All that Giltters is Not Gold
by leeluvzya
Summary: Silver centric - Explores her life with her alcoholic Mother & all that goes along with it. Silver is a lonely girl & struggles with her circumstances. Most if not all characters will be play a part in the story at some point. Eventually Silver & Dixon
1. Chapter 1

Silver entered her home silently and cautiously looked around the living room for her Mother. Suddenly she heard screaming from the other side of the house.

"You useless bastard, good for nothing jerk…"

Silver traced the noise to the kitchen. She closed her eyes momentarily and leaned against the door jamb, bracing herself for what she was about to walk in on. She nudged open the kitchen door and peeked in to assess the situation.

Jackie was still dressed in the same robe she had on when Silver had left 8 hours ago and was clinging onto the neck of a Vodka bottle, screaming at a potted plant.

"How dare you treat me like that, you'll be sorry you ever messed with the likes of meee!" Jackie wailed at the plant.

Silver backed away from the door hoping her Mother had not noticed her presence in the room. She made a quick exit to her room. All she wanted to do was escape. As she climbed the stairs to her room she wondered how her life had gotten so messed up.

Hours later, the house was silent and Silver thought it might be safe to scrounge up some dinner. She passed through the house as quietly as possible, for the longer she could go without her Mom realising she was there, the better. She stopped short upon entering the living room; her Mom was on the couch. But Silver quickly realised that she had passed out; she breathed a little easier knowing that there wouldn't be a war waged tonight. Silver eyeballed the half empty bottle of Vodka propped up next to her Mom and took it into the kitchen with her. She dumped the contents in the sink, got some food and went back to her room and her beloved laptop.

*THUD*

Silver's bedroom door was flung open and slammed against the wall.

"You ungrateful bitch, who do you think you are pouring out my Vodka!" Silver bolted upright in her bed. Her Mom was standing in her doorway, eyes bloodshot as could be and swaying erratically with rage and intoxication. Silver glanced at the clock on her nightstand; it was quarter to 3 in the morning.

"Look at me when I am talking to you, you brat! Just who in the hell do you think you are?" Jackie screamed, advancing towards her bed. Silver had to think fast to stop the situation from getting as bad as she knew it could.

"Mom, what are you talking about? I didn't pour it out, I didn't throw it away, I put it away… It's in the bar!" Silver lied, hoping there was still a near full bottle left behind the bar. "You must have finished the other bottle yesterday."

Jackie paused and glared at her daughter, trying to decipher whether she was lying or not.

"You better not be lying to me young lady or so help me…"

Jackie left the room in search of the bottle. Luckily for Silver, that bottle was still there and Jackie drank some more before stumbling up the stairs again. Silver remained sitting in her bed hugging her knees to her chest until she heard her Mom's door slam nearly an hour later. She let out a shaky breath as she laid her head on her knees. She knew full well that the events of tonight could have been catastrophic. She began wistfully thinking about her sister. Surely Kelly knew what life was like for her, she lived it too when she was younger. Why didn't Kelly do something? Why didn't she get her out of this hell? She lifted her head as a tear traced its' way down her cheek. She lay back down again knowing she could go back to sleep and fell asleep the same way she always did – curled up in a ball clutching Hero tightly against her chest. As her eyelids got heavier, she mumbled her prayer that had become somewhat of a mantra over the past 2 years – "Please help Mom God… Please make Kelly realise I need her. God help us all…" and with that she fell into a restless sleep.

Silver awoke the next morning to the sun streaming through her window. She bypassed the bathroom and checked on her Mom, relieved to see she was still very out of it. She got ready for school, grateful for the Math Lab that was scheduled for that afternoon. That would prolong her return home by 2 hours. Silver wasn't naturally studious, but things had gotten to a point where she embraced any excuse to be anywhere but home, and the after school tutorials proved to be an excellent distraction. She had an A- average since school went back in September, she surprised even herself with her grades. Since Kelly worked at the school, she checked in with Silver's teachers and tried to do so inconspicuously, failing miserably. Although it slightly amused Silver to see the instant change in demeanour and hear the volume rise whenever she came across Kelly talking to one of her teachers. Kelly made sure Silver knew how proud she was of her. Even so, Silver often wondered if Kelly blamed her for her troubled relationship with their Mother. Her Mom sure made it clear to Silver that it was her fault Kelly hated her, and the thought of Kelly possibly harbouring those feelings towards her kept Silver from confiding in Kelly about the situation at home. She was too afraid to even speak about their Mom for fear that she'd find out that Kelly too thought that she was to blame for her family's disarray.

Silver hurriedly threw her books and her laptop into her bag before quietly letting herself into her Mom's room, leaving some aspirin and water on her bedside table for when she woke up. With that she rushed out of the house, relieved to be free for a few hours.

Although when Silver thought about it, school wasn't a whole lot of fun either. She was infamous at school for her Blog, which she appropriately named 'The Vicious Circle' as a bleak commentary on life. While the school revelled in each new Blog, no one was really game enough to try and befriend Silver. After seeing some of the things she wrote about, people were rather terrified of being on the receiving end of it and felt it safer to steer clear. Not that Silver minded too much, it saved her the task of thinking up a multitude of reasons why no one could ever come to her place. The only drawback of it all was that she lived a lonely existence. Kelly was always busy with Sammy, and even if she wasn't, Silver didn't want to be a burden or an annoyance to her sister. Her Dad has been out of the picture since her Mom started drinking again and David sent her the odd email, but she wasn't close with him. By this point in her life, Silver had some pretty problematic trust issues. She forgot what it felt like to enjoy anything or be happy. She barely felt anything anymore. She was always so exhausted and drained from her home life, constantly walking on eggshells around her Mom trying not to set off the time bomb she became when she drank. It took all her energy to go through the motions of daily life. She was beginning to lose her hope that things would ever get better.

Pulling into the car park at school, she noticed a large group of sophomores captivated by something. Silver ambled over to check it out and was disgusted to see them all watching Ethan and Naomi making out in a horrifyingly graphic PDA. Seriously, had these sheep never seen the Discovery Channel? She walked away shaking her head.


	2. Chapter 2

1st period, English class. The joy of her scholastic life. Did you catch the sarcasm there? Mr Matthews just announced that their class would be reading 'To Kill a Mockingbird' during first term. Silver joined in the chorus of groans, not because that meant reading a book which was the cause of the other complaints, but that it was the same obvious choice as last year's 'Gulliver's Travels.'

*Why can't these people be original for a change and give us something decent to read… What is wrong with 'The Incredible Lightness of Being?' or 'The Dollhouse?'* Silver wondered to herself. She had read To Kill a Mockingbird when she was 8. Oh well, at least the assignment would be an easy A.

*Knock, knock!*

Mr Matthews turned towards the sound. "Come in!" A girl tentatively popped her head around the door and stepped into the classroom. "Um, are you Mr Matthews, is this English?" she asked uncertainly.

"I am, Miss Wilson, I've been expecting you. Come on in," Mr Matthews said as he pointed to an empty seat in the second row. "Class, this is Annie Wilson. Yes, the last name should ring a bell. She is Principal Wilson's daughter. Let's all make her feel welcome," Mr Matthews encouraged them, beginning to clap.

An overwhelming 2 people half-heartedly followed his example, prompting him to repeat himself. "Come on guys, you can do better than that! Yes, clapping! There we go!" he exclaimed sarcastically as about half the class was now half-heartedly clapping. Annie sat down and Mr Matthews approached her desk. "So, where are you from, Annie?"

"Wichita, Kansas," she replied.

"Kansas… Now who can tell me the capital of Kansas? No one?" Mr Matthews looked around disappointed when no one offered an answer. "Who's the guy with one name from 'Superbad?' he followed up.

"Mc'Lovin," the class replied in unison, laughing.

"Mc'Lovin. Everyone knows Mc'Lovin but no one knows that Topeka is the capital of Kansas. Sad. So why did you move here, Annie?"

"Dad got offered the Principal's position, plus we wanted to live closer to my Grandma," Annie replied, smiling. She liked this teacher, he was cool.

"*cough* NARK! *cough*" came from the back of the room. The class turned and snickered, and Annie's smile evaporated.

"Nice, George. Yet another girl at this school who'll never go out with you," Mr Matthews concluded. The class erupted in laughter. Silver shook her head appreciatively. She'd watched the awkward introduction with some amusement.

The door opened and shut behind the school's resident Malibu Barbie, Naomi. "Well hi Naomi, we're so grateful you could join us!" Mr Matthews exclaimed.

Naomi sighed dramatically. "I was at the Doctor," she replied condescendingly.

"*cough* GYNO! *cough*!" George called out again.

Naomi turned and glared at him. "Yes George, I was at the Gynaecologist, who asked me to remind you to keep your vagina clean," she replied icily.

The class snickered, laughed and dissed George for getting shut down by Naomi.

"Well Naomi, I can't wait to see your eloquence in use on paper when you turn in your book report by tomorrow, or I'll fail you!" Mr Matthews threatened.

Naomi smirked, knowing full well that her parents would get her out of writing her assignment when they came to the school later that day.

Mr Matthews could see that Naomi wasn't taking his statement seriously. "You know Naomi, you weren't here to greet our newest transfer student. This is Annie," he said, motioning to Annie who was sitting to her left. Naomi begrudgingly looked at her, raising her eyebrows in greeting. "And I can tell that you two will become fast friends while you take her under your wing and show her around today," he concluded.

Naomi rolled her eyes and flashed a fake smile. "Of course, Mr Matthews. Will there be anything else?"

As Mr Matthews opened his mouth to tell Naomi to play nice with Annie, that she was the new principal's daughter he decided to withhold that nugget of information. He was rather interested to watch Naomi put her foot in it and decided he would be on the lookout for Naomi and Annie today to see how the other shoe dropped. With that, the bell rang signalling the end of class.

As everyone gathered their books and began to leave, Silver noticed a familiar sticker on Annie's notebook and angled her head to get a better look.

*Hmm, she's into Division 8? Maybe the new Principal's daughter isn't such a loser after all?* she contemplated as she headed out to Math class.

Lunchtime rolled around and Kelly walked up behind Mr Matthews as he was rather obviously finding humour at the situation unfolding in front of him. Naomi had been treating Annie like her personal gopher for the past 15 minutes, sending her back to the lunch line with her salad because she found carrot in it, which she specifically requested it to be made without. She then sent her to her locker to retrieve a forgotten lip gloss for the mid lunch reapplication. Annie was beginning to look frazzled and frustrated. Kelly decided it was time to step in.

"Ryan," she said from directly behind Mr Matthews causing him to jump. He had been so engrossed with the goings-on with Naomi and Annie that he hadn't noticed Kelly Taylor, the school's Guidance Counsellor standing right behind him. Ryan had been trying to get up the courage to ask Kelly out for weeks now but to no avail.

"Kelly!" Ryan responded with the feeling that he had just been caught with his hand in the proverbial cookie jar. "What's going on?" he asked feigning innocence.

"Why don't you tell me, Ryan," Kelly replied as she watched him squirm. "You've been watching Naomi order poor Annie around all lunch and seem to be getting some kind of enjoyment out of it!"

"Well… You see… I thought it might teach Naomi…" Ryan faltered.

"I get it… Naomi is a stuck up brat who thinks the world revolves around her. But that's no reason to punish Annie. I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to put an end to this," Kelly finished as she walked over to the table where Naomi was sitting with her friends Morgan and Adrianna and Annie.

"Hi girls!" Kelly said in an overly excited manner. She ignored the mumbled responses she got from the prima donnas and sat next to Annie. "Hey Annie, my name is Kelly Taylor. I'm the school's guidance counsellor and I wanted to come over and make sure you felt welcome! It's not easy being the Principal's kid is it?" she asked sympathetically, squeezing Annie's shoulder.

Naomi nearly choked on her food. "Principal's… daughter?" she spluttered. "Oh I am so out of here… Ladies!" she commanded as she stormed off to vent about the predicament Mr Matthews had put her in.

Annie watched them go with a feeling of relief mixed with trepidation. She didn't necessarily like Naomi, but at least she wasn't stuck by herself or getting lost all day. She turned to Kelly and sighed. "No, as you can see, it's not. It's a little repellent to everyone," motioning to the now empty table.

Kelly laughed and mumbled under her breath "trust me, you are better off. I hope your day gets better, feel free to come and find me anytime you need to chat. My door is always open," she offered as she stood up to leave.

"Thank you, Miss Taylor," Annie replied with a smile. She had a feeling Miss Taylor was right, Naomi didn't seem like someone she really wanted to spend any length of time with.

Kelly walked back over to where Ryan still stood. "Well, what did you think?" she asked him.

"Nicely done," he commended her with a grin.

"Yeah well, you're not the only one who thinks Naomi is a complete pain in the ass," she conceded with a smile.

"I'm only sorry my plan had to come to an end. It was fun while it lasted," said Ryan.

"I'm glad I could be a part of it! See ya later," Kelly said, raising her eyebrow and looking at him as she began to walk away. When Kelly was very young, she realised she had a great deal of power over men. She was always able to tell when a man was interested in her and rather enjoyed playing up to it and seeing which of them would act on it. Not that she was a tease, she was just a very skilled flirt and learnt a lot about the men she dated by watching their moves during the flirtatious banter she instigated. Kelly smiled to herself as she returned to her office, hoping Ryan would rise to the bait she's dangled in front of him.


	3. Chapter 3

"What's this?" Silver asked.

"Um, a notebook?" Annie replied meekly.

"No, this," Silver said tapping the sticker.

"It's a Division 8 sticker," Annie answered testily.

"How is that even possible? They have like 8 fans total… Where'd you get the sticker, new kid?" Silver demanded.

"I found them on The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus' celebrity playlist… And could you give me back my notebook?" Annie asked.

"Hmm, tough girl… I like it," Silver retorted. "That's exactly how I found them too!" she admitted, smiling for the first time. "My name's Silver," she offered as she sat next to Annie and stole one of her fries.

"Silver…?" Annie questioned as she moved her fries over so they could share.

"Well," Silver said contemplatively. "You could call me Erin, but I won't respond."

Annie laughed. "Okay."

"I wasn't planning on making you feel welcome or anything, but I saw the sticker and thought 'ah, maybe the Principal's daughter isn't such a big loser after all!'" Silver said with a smirk.

"Gee, thanks!" Annie remarked, laughing.

"That and I felt sorry for you after Mr Matthews stuck you with the Anti-Christ all morning. It was rather amusing watching for awhile but then it turned sickening," Silver said sympathetically.

Annie laughed. "So you're a fan of Naomi's as well I take it?"

Silver shook her head and looked away. "Hardly. I'm sure you can understand why after spending the morning with her."

"Yes, luckily Miss Taylor sent her and her friends packing. Mr Matthews forgot to let Naomi in on the secret that my Dad's the new Principal… Very funny stuff," Annie conceded.

Silver laughed. "Yeah, he's pretty cool. What do you think of Kel – I mean Miss Taylor?" she asked.

"She seems really nice. She told me to come see her if I need anything," Annie said. "I guess she knows it's not easy being the new kid here, especially the new Principal's kid."

"Yeah, Kelly's good like that," Silver said smiling wistfully, thinking back to her wonderings the previous day.

"Kelly? You're on first name basis with the counsellor?" Annie asked curiously.

Silver laughed. "I'm no mental case, don't worry. As well as being the guidance counsellor, she's also my big sister."

"Really?" Annie said incredulously. "Well then I guess you know what it's like to be under 24/7 surveillance at school then huh?"

"Yeah… Kelly tries to not butt into my school stuff. Sometimes she can't help it, but she's pretty harmless. I'm sure your Dad will keep his distance," Silver offered.

"Yeah, I'm not going to get my hopes up," Annie concluded.

The bell rang, ending the girls' conversation. Silver saw Annie's face flash a look of panic at the realisation that she was about to be lost and alone again. It was all Silver could do to suppress a giggle.

"What class do you have now?" asked Silver as she stood up.

"Um, I have Biology with Mr Katz," Annie answered after consulting her schedule.

"Me too," said Silver with a smile.

A look of utter relief came across Annie's face. "Oh thank God!"

Silver stretched out her hand to help Annie up. "Thanks," she said as she rose.

"Don't be grateful yet," Silver scoffed. "Katz's class is a total bitch. There's research that supports the notion that Mr Katz is really the son of a Nazi war criminal," joked Silver.

Annie laughed. "I'm sure it won't be that bad, I'm pretty good at Bio," she said.

"Great! You can be my lab partner and bring my GPA up," quipped Silver as she linked her arm through Annie's as they left the cafeteria.

Annie looked at Silver as they walked to class – she seemed really cool, and she was the first person who was openly kind to her.

*Oh my God… I made a friend!* Annie realised as her smile grew.

They arrived at Bio just as the tardy bell rang. Mr Katz met them at the door, ready to shut it.

"Ladies, welcome! Enter," he ordered Annie and Silver. He watched them head to a lab bench and sit together. "Ahh, Miss Wilson! Smart move buddying up with my most impressive student!" he stated.

Silver groaned and looked around. Luckily no one else was paying much attention and didn't hear Mr Katz's praise. She turned to see Annie smirking with an eyebrow raised.

"I think you might have things mixed up… Apparently you're going to be the one helping my GPA!" she teased Silver.

"Shhhh… Be quiet! I have a reputation to uphold here," Silver hissed.

Annie nodded knowingly. She understood; Silver didn't want to be the teachers pet anymore than she wanted to be the Principal's daughter.

"Your secret's safe with me," Annie whispered with a wink.

Silver smiled.

*Annie seems really nice,* Silver thought to herself. *Very sweet, but can I trust her enough to let her in?* she wondered. Silver sighed, so many people she'd trusted in her life had left or let her down. But she knew that the only way to find out if someone was worth trusting was to lower her defences in the first place. But that was easier said than done for her.

The bell rang shrilly and pulled Silver out of her thoughts. As she packed up, she turned to Annie.

"One more class, then freedom till 8:30 tomorrow morning. What class do you have?" she asked.

"I have… Um… Absolutely no idea," Annie realised as she rummaged through her bag looking for her timetable.

"Oh, here we go, I have Math with Ms. Kessler," she moaned. Annie hated Math with a passion.

"Well aren't you lucky to have the pleasure of my company all afternoon?" Silver exclaimed.

"You're in my class?" Annie asked hopefully.

"Better believe it," Silver confirmed. "Onwards and upwards," she said leading the way to their Math classroom.


	4. Chapter 4

The front door opened and banged shut, causing Silver to jump involuntarily. This time however, Debbie noticed Silver's skittish reaction to the noise, unknown to Silver at the time.

Harry walked into the family room after hanging his jacket in the closet. "Hey guys, how was your first day?" Harry asked as he noticed an extra child on the couch and smiled at her waiting to be introduced.

"Hi Daddy," Annie said, giving her Father a hug.

"Hey, Princess," Harry replied kissing his daughter's hair.

Annie turned her Father towards the couch. "Dad, this is Silver. She's in most of my classes. Silver, this is my Dad."

Silver waved and smiled. "Hi Principal Wilson," she said.

Harry winced. "Silver?" he asked.

Silver nodded in response.

"Silver," Harry repeated. "I hate the title when I'm at school, even more so outside of it. Please, call me Harry," he continued smiling warmly.

"Sorry sir – I mean Harry," Silver corrected herself.

"Silver," Harry repeated again, looking deep in thought. "Any relation to David Silver?"

Silver smiled. "Yes, he's my brother," she replied.

Harry's eyes went wide as he seemed to realise something. "Erin? Erin Silver?" he asked as a grin spread across his face.

Silver was puzzled. "Yes," she replied slowly.

"Oh God… It's a small world. I lived next door to you and your sister until '92. Last time I saw you, you were about three years old," Harry was lost in memories of his youth, playing with Kelly and Erin for days on end.

"Really?" Silver asked laughing. "I'm sorry, I don't remember you!"

"I wouldn't think you would, kiddo, so I see you're taking after your brother now and going by your surname?" Harry asked.

Silver shrugged. "Yeah, David called me Silver when I was growing up and it stuck. It suits me more than Erin," she replied.

Dixon and Annie watched the exchange in awe. Debbie excused herself to check on dinner.

"So you knew my sister? Did you see her at school today?" Silver asked.

"I did. We caught up after first period. Although she didn't mention you were a student at West Beverly. It took us both back to the time that fashion forgot," he said laughing loudly. "In fact, I think somewhere around here, there's a picture of your sister and I, and Kelly is wearing fluro pink and blue leggings," he said as he laughed.

Silver joined in. "Oh, I'd believe it. Kelly was the original fashion victim," she quipped.

Debbie returned from the kitchen. "Guys, dinner's ready. You better come eat before it gets cold," she said.

Silver's face dropped slightly. She knew she'd have to go home eventually, but this home was so kind and warm that she didn't want to leave. Again, Debbie saw Silver's behaviour. Debbie felt sorry for the girl.

"Silver, would you like to join us for dinner?" Debbie asked, paying close attention to Silver's reaction.

Her head popped up and her eyes widened as a smile involuntarily spread across her face. "Sure, if um, you're sure that's okay?" Silver asked.

"Of course, the more the merrier," Debbie assured her.

During dinner, the Wilson's told Silver about their lives back in Kansas. Silver had never been to Kansas… But I mean… Why would anyone go to Kansas?

Harry wiped his mouth with his napkin and looked at Silver. "How's Mel doing these days? Still in orthodontia business?" he asked after Silver's father.

Silver slowly swallowed her food before answering. "Uh, I'm not sure to be honest. We don't talk much since the divorce," she answered dejectedly, taking a sudden interest in her plate.

Harry instantly regretted his question. "I'm sorry to hear that," he sympathised. "I didn't know."

Silver sniffed and forced a smile as she looked at him. "No big deal," she said dismissively. "It's the norm around these parts."

Harry nodded grimly. "I guess it is," he agreed.

Debbie cleared her throat and stood up to get more water. As she turned, the glass slipped out of her hand causing it to shatter on the floor. Harry saw Silver drop her cutlery on her plate and jump in her seat at the sound, which concerned him a little. He turned his attention back to his wife.

"Stay there sweetheart, don't move. I'll get the broom," Harry said jumping out of his seat to clean up the glass.

Silver took a deep breath and tried to regain her composure. She picked up her cutlery and continued to eat.

Dixon put down his spoon and rocked back on his chair, resting his hands on his swollen stomach.

"Mmm… Good dinner, Mom," Dixon said.

"Yeah Mom, it was great," echoed Annie.

Silver finished her bite and licked her lips. "They're right Debbie, it was great. I'll have to grab the recipe off you," Silver added.

Debbie smiled modestly. "Thanks kids. Do you want your Mom to try and make it for you, Silver?" she asked.

Silver smirked. "No, Mom is a disaster in the kitchen, so I do pretty much all of the cooking," she replied.

Debbie was impressed. "Well then Silver, you're welcome to any of my recipes you want to try out," she offered.

Silver smiled gratefully. "Thanks, Debbie."

"Well, Silver and I have homework to do, we should get started," Annie said wearily as she rose from her place at the table.

Silver quickly followed suite. "Do you want any help with the dishes?" she offered.

"Oh no, sweetie, you're a guest. You don't have to earn your meal," Debbie joked. "You three get started on your homework and leave the dishes to Harry and I. Yes Dixon, I said three. I assume if Silver and Annie have homework that you do to," Debbie ordered with a smile before Dixon could protest.

But Harry protested his volunteered assistance with the dishes. "Oh – Debbie, you know I have –"

Debbie cut him off with a glare. Harry raised his hands in defeat and laughed.

"You know me Deb, I had to try," Harry reasoned with his trademark smile that always got him out of trouble. It worked. Debbie stopped glaring at him and laughed.

"Yes, I know," Debbie sighed and put her arm around him as the kids went upstairs.

*** *** ***

Harry and Debbie were in the kitchen cleaning up after dinner. Debbie was mulling over how to bring up the subject that needed to be discussed.

"Harry," she began slowly.

Harry looked at her expectantly.

"Did it seem tonight that… Silver was… A little funny?" Debbie faltered.

"Funny? Hard to say, considering I haven't seen her in 12 years," Harry said frowning.

"I don't know… Maybe it's the Mom instinct," Debbie continued quickly.

"Maybe," Harry replied. His mind drifted back to her reaction at the table when Debbie's glass broke. "Well, I'll keep an eye on her at school," he decided.

Debbie smiled. "I think that's a great idea. She seems like a sweet kid, I'm happy Annie made a friend so quickly," she remarked.

Harry smiled. "Yeah, I was worried about them making friends here. This neighbourhood can be a little exclusive," he confessed.

Debbie smiled. "I knew the kids would be okay… They're great kids whether it is by Kansas standards or Beverly Hills'. Great kids are great kids anywhere," Debbie said.

"Yup, yup, you're right. I underestimated them. We did a damn good job with them, didn't we?" Harry said haughtily.

"Yeah, we sure did!" Debbie agreed with a laugh.

Harry threw his dishtowel around Debbie's waist and pulled her against him. Debbie wrapped her arms around Harry's neck and they kissed like a pair of teenagers, young and in love.


	5. Chapter 5

Upstairs in Annie's room, the girls were lying on Annie's bed hanging out, getting to know each other and doing minimal amounts of homework.

"So," Silver said. "See any guys you like yet?"

Annie laughed in surprise. "Oh yeah, that George guy seems like such a gentleman," she replied sarcastically.

Silver laughed appreciatively. "Ah, George wasn't always such an ass. He was a TV child star who was washed up at the tender age of 12. He became sooo bitter," Silver explained.

"Wow," commented Annie. "But seriously, give me time, I'm sure I'll see something I like eventually."

"I'm sure you will," replied Silver. "West Beverly has no shortage of eligible bachelors."

"Speaking of the West Beverly men, is one of them yours?" Annie asked curiously.

Silver sighed dramatically. "No, I am flying solo at this point. The guys at school are less of a novelty for me because I've been going to school with them for 9 years," she elaborated.

"Ahh, understood," Annie responded.

Silver opened up her laptop to check the status of her Blog. "Nice! I have fans in Australia!" she exclaimed in disbelief.

"Fans? What do you mean?" Annie asked curiously.

"You haven't heard yet, that's cute," Silver replied, scooting next to Annie so she could see the computer screen. "This is my Blog, 'The Vicious Circle'. It's my commentary on life in West Beverly and Beverly Hills in general," Silver said with pride.

"Wow," said Annie, who was clearly impressed. "And you said you're now big in Australia?"

"Yup!" Silver said, pointing to the locations of people who had left comments. Many were beginning to read 'Australia'.

"Impressive! You're totally global!" Annie congratulated her. "What kind of stuff do you have on your Blog?"

"Oh you know, the usual stuff. I have links to my MySpace, my photos and a list of websites that every human being must visit at least once before they die, as well as my biggest draw – scathing video accounts of happenings at school," Silver answered with a smirk.

With that, she put her laptop in front of Annie for her viewing pleasure and pressed the 'Play' button on the Blog.

A video began streaming showing a boy getting what appeared to be a blow job in the school parking lot and getting caught by Naomi. Annie looked at Silver, slightly horrified by what she saw. The background of the video was the school – making her even more sure this occurred at school.

"Silver! Did this actually happen? And at school?" Annie asked in astonishment, looking to Silver for clarification.

Silver burst out laughing. "It sure did! There's now a new reason they call Wednesday 'Hump-Day," Silver said as she rolled on her back laughing.

Annie gasped in disbelief.

Silver watched her reaction, amused by it. "Let me guess… Nothing like this happened in Kansas?"

"No, not by a long shot," Annie replied bluntly. "I'm definitely not in Kansas anymore," she added.

A knock at the door caused the girls to look up.

"Come in!" Annie called.

Dixon entered the room and closed the door behind him. "Hey guys… I was hoping one of you could explain this Bio homework to me. As far as I'm concerned, it might as well be Japanese," Dixon complained.

Annie looked at Silver who looked like she was struggling to decide whether to help him or not. Dixon pouted at her, making Silver laugh. She propped herself up on her elbows on the bed.

"Sure, come on. Let's see," she patted a spot on the bed next to her.

Dixon made his way over to the bed and slid next to Silver. He put his textbook in front of her so she could see the assignment.

"Oh, this is easy. My class did this last week…" Silver began explaining the work as Dixon's concentration shifted from his Bio book to the smell of Silver's hair. He leaned in closer under the pretence of getting a better look at the book as Silver explained what to do and inhaled the scent of her hair. It had a scent of strawberries, which he decided were his new favourite fruit. He stared at her hair a moment longer before finally turning his attention back to the Bio book and Silver's explanation. After a few more minutes, Dixon understood the assignment.

"Oh, I get it," he said. He picked up his book and his arm brushed against Silver's, which left goose bumps from his touch.

"No problem," she replied quickly with a smile.

A few minutes later, the girls had finished their homework. Annie sat up and leaned against the headboard. "Done, finally!" she said happily.

"Yeah, until tomorrow," Silver added. There was another knock on the door.

"Come in, Dixon!" Annie guessed.

"Not exactly," Debbie let herself in the room. "Homework all done?"

"Yeah, we just finished," Annie replied happily.

"That's good, but it's getting kinda late and you've still got some chores to do," Debbie hinted.

Annie groaned. Silver got the hint and sat up. "Yeah, and it's actually nearly my curfew, I should get going."

"Oh, no Silver, that's not what I meant. You're more than welcome to stay as long as you like," Debbie replied warmly as she moved to the door and left the room.

"No, really, I should jet. Um, do you want a ride to school tomorrow, Annie?" she asked shyly.

"Sure! Can we take Dixon too?" Annie replied.

"Yeah, no problem," Silver answered, standing up and beginning to get her things together.

"Hey Silver," Annie got Silver's attention.

"Yeah?"

Annie reached over and grabbed Silver's hand. "Thanks so much for today, I don't know what I would've done without you," Annie smiled gratefully.

Silver looked surprised but happy. "It's cool, I had fun. You have a great family," she replied with a smile.

"C'mon, I'll walk you out," Annie said grabbing Silver's bag. They went downstairs and past the family room where Silver found Harry and Debbie.

"Thank you again for dinner, Debbie, and for letting me hang. It was nice to meet you both," Silver said sincerely.

"It was our pleasure, Silver," Debbie smiled.

Harry smiled Silver, his memory again drifting back to yesteryear and the little girl that he knew so long ago grown up and standing before him. "Take care driving home, Silver."

"I will, Harry. Goodnight," she said in departure.

"Goodnight!" Harry and Debbie replied.

Annie put Silver's bag in her car. "Night Silver, what time will you be here tomorrow?"

"A bit before 8," Silver replied getting into the drivers seat. She turned to face Annie again with a smile. "Goodnight Annie."

Silver started her car, drove down the driveway and turned towards home. Annie watched her before returning to the house.

Annie went upstairs and into Dixon's room. She flopped on his bed.

So," she began. Silver will be here just before 8 to take us to school tomorrow."

"Really? Sweet!" Dixon exclaimed. "One day of arriving at school with Dad was more than enough for me."

"Yeah, no kidding," Annie agreed.


	6. Chapter 6

Silver slowed to a halt in her driveway and pulled up her handbrake. She looked at her watch and sighed when she realised it was only 9:30. Her Mom would surely still be awake and drinking. She rested her head on the steering wheel for a few moments while she gathered her thoughts. Taking a deep breath, she opened her door and got out before locking her car.

She quietly let herself on the house, silently cursing the creaky front door which alerted her Mom to her presence in the house.

"Erin! Erin Daphne Silver, you get your ass in here pronto, you little bitch!" Jackie screamed at her daughter from the living room.

Silver bit her lip and her eyes began to tear in anticipation. She curled her hands into fists and struck them against her thighs.

*Hold it together, Silver* she told herself. *Don't let her see your fear.*

Silver entered the living room. "Yeah Mom?" she said expectantly. She wrinkled her nose from the stench of alcohol, which permeated the room. She saw an empty Whiskey bottle on the floor and another half empty bottle on the table.

"Don't you 'yeah Mom' me… You know what you did, you little bitch," snarled Jackie.

Silver's heart plummeted to her stomach. A few days ago, she'd found her Mom's cocaine stash and flushed it. That had to be what her Mom was getting at. She decided to fake ignorance and see how far that got her.

"What, Mom? I don't know what you're talking about," Silver replied after swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat.

"Don't pull that shit with me, Erin!" Jackie screamed as she got to her feet and began moving towards Silver. "My cocaine, you lying bitch! What did you do with it?"

Silver began to panic. There was no getting out of this one, and it was going to be bad.

"Mom, I'm sorry. The vial broke when I was straightening up your room," she lied, backing away from Jackie, who was still advancing towards her. "I had hoped to replace it before you noticed." Silver's back hit the living room wall. She was cornered next to the fireplace.

"You lying do-gooder. You flushed it, didn't you, you ingrate? I give you everything, and this is the thanks I get?" she roared, all the while inching closer to Silver. "You are my daughter and you will damn well show me and my property some respect!" she screeched, now standing toe to toe with her trembling daughter.

It was then Silver spotted the coal poker from the fireplace in her Mother's hand. She didn't know when she picked it up, but now Silver was absolutely terrified.

Jackie laughed at Silver's obvious fear. "Oh, now you're going to behave, are you?" she prompted Erin.

Silver nodder spasmodically, hoping it would neutralise the treacherous situation.

"Yes, I bet you will after I teach you a lesson or two about respect!" she yelled as she gripped the poker in both hands and raised it to the side. Silver instinctively shrank down and covered her head the best she could.

Her Mother brought the poker crashing down on Silver's ribs. She raised it again, this time hitting her waist. She continued to belt Silver for a few minutes, landing blows on her ribs, legs, hips and midsection.

Then, as quickly as it had begun, the assault stopped. Silver didn't move from her position on the floor for fear her Mom would see it as an act of defiance and continue the beating. She remained on the floor shaking and silently sobbing until she heard her Mom tripping up the stairs and slamming her bedroom door shut.

Silver picked herself up off the floor and staggered to the stairs, struggling to climb them to get to her room. Once there, she closed and locked her door as well as attached her removable door chair to the door and the wall next to it. She had found it in a hardware store and she loved it. Because it was removable, her Mom still didn't know she had it and it provided her with a little more peace of mind, especially after nights like this. It made her feel a little safer. Silver moved over to her bed and reached into her bedside table. She pulled put a bottle of painkillers and swallowed a couple, gulping water from a bottle beside her bed.

She then painfully stripped off her clothes until she was left in her bra and underwear to examine the damage. Her ribs and waist were already beginning to bruise and were very tender to the touch. Silver retrieved her Polaroid camera and took a couple of quick pictures of the emerging bruises before writing the date and object used under each photo. Silver was a smart girl and realised long ago that she may need evidence of her Mom's violent ways should things at home ever get really out of hand.

She put the new photos with the rest of the collection in a shoebox which she hid behind a bunch of winter clothes on the top shelf of her cupboard. She closed her cupboard door and stumbled back over to the bed. Silver considered putting her pyjamas on, but realised that they would likely be rather painful to take off by the morning. She crawled under the blankets and clutched Hero to her chest. A hero was exactly what she needed right now. She took a deep, shaky breath which caused a sharp pain to emanate from her ribs. Silver turned her face into her pillow and sobbed freely until she fell asleep some time later.

Silver was awakened by the shrill sound of her alarm clock. Temporarily forgetting the beating she copped the night before, she rolled over to turn it off and nearly screamed in agony. She gingerly stood up and made her way into her ensuite to take a shower. Even she was shocked when she caught a glimpse of herself in the bathroom mirror. Her entire right side from under her breasts to her knee was some variant of blue, black or purple.

"Jesus…" she mumbled, bringing her fingertips to the bruise, making herself flinch instantly.

She looked at her reflection in the eyes and watched a tear escape from one. Silver looked into her own eyes for a little longer, then she turned on the faucets and climbed into the shower. She stood directly under the water flow, making it impossible to tell the tears now flowing freely from the water streaming from the showerhead.

Silver towelled off very carefully, put on a bikini top instead of a bra to spare her ribs from any unnecessary pain. Silver got her Polaroid again and took more photos of the new bruises. Then she threw on some cute but loose fitting clothes ran a brush through her straight hair. Before she left, she swallowed a few more painkillers and grabbed her bag which was still packed from the previous day. Balancing it carefully over her left shoulder, she made her way out of the house as quickly and quietly as she could to go pick up Annie and Dixon.

*********

"Thanks for the lift, Silver," Dixon said with a smile.

"No worries, Dixon. If you want a ride home, be at my car by 5 past 3," Silver added.

"Sweet," Dixon answered with a wave as he made a beeline for his locker.

"Thanks again for picking us up, Silver. It wasn't doing either of our reps any good turning up to school with Dad," remarked Annie.

Silver laughed. "No problem. We have English first up, I'll meet you there? I have to go to my locker first," Silver replied.

"No sweat," Annie said heading to the classroom. "I'll save you a seat."

Silver made her way over to her locker and dialled the combination. She was trying to find the book she needed for second period Drama.

Kelly spotted her sister at her locker and snuck up behind her. "Hey, sis!" she said loudly, tickling her waist.

"Ahhh!" Silver grimaced in pain as Kelly's fingers pressed against her bruise, which was now a nasty deep purple.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong?" Kelly asked in concern.

"Oh, um, it's nothing really," Silver lied quickly. She couldn't tell Kelly what happened, not if she wanted any sort of a real family. Her greatest fears kept her silent about her home life… She didn't want Kelly to hate her like Mom did. All she had was Kelly and she wasn't going to lose her over this.

Kelly didn't look convinced. "Silver…" she began.

"Kelly, really – I've just got really bad cramps at the moment, you know?" Silver thought on her feet.

Kelly cupped her sisters' cheek in her hand and sighed. "Yes baby, I know," Kelly replied sadly. Kelly suffered from Endometriosis, a condition that made normal period pain much worse and also made it more difficult to conceive and carry a child to term. She was lucky to have Sammy, for which she thanked God every day. Kelly knew the condition was genetic, so she was now becoming more concerned that Silver might have it too.

"We should get you checked out for Endometriosis, hun," Kelly said quietly.

Silver looked around before replying. "Kelly, I'm sure I don't have it."

"Me too, but I'd rather be safe than sorry," Kelly concluded.

"I guess you're right," Silver relented. At least the conversation had been diverted and Silver's secret was still safe for now. But she knew she couldn't go to the Doctor until her bruises had faded. "How about we go next week? You know Dr Austin is always really booked up," Silver suggested.

Kelly thought for a moment before agreeing. "Sure, sweetheart, I'll make an appointment for the end of next week," Kelly said as she tucked a strand of hair behind her sister's ear.

Silver was beginning to get choked up. "Um, I should go, I don't wanna be late…" she trailed off.

"No, of course, go ahead. I'll talk to you later kiddo. Love you," Kelly said as she began walking back to her office.

Silver looked at her retreating figure as a tear made its' way down her cheek. "I love you, too," she whispered. She quickly wiped her cheek and gritted her teeth. *Hold it together, Silver* she chided herself as she shut her locker and headed to English class.


	7. Chapter 7

"Ugh, finally, lunch time," moaned Annie. "I'm starving."

"Yeah, me too," Silver replied grabbing a cafeteria tray and loading it up. She grabbed a Caesar salad and some sushi. Annie followed suite, getting a garden salad, lasagne and fries. As they walked to an empty table, Silver eyeballed the fries enviously.

"Damn, I should have gotten fries," Silver said with a frown.

Annie sat down and laughed. "Don't worry, these are communal fries," she said putting them in between her and Silver, much to Silver's delight.

They dug into the fries. Annie held one up and said 'cheers!' They laughed as they 'clinked' their fries together.

Naomi walked past. "Hmm," she said looking down at Silver and Annie. "Loser convention is in town," she remarked as she kept walking. Her entourage giggled and laughed approvingly.

Silver's face darkened like a storm cloud. "Stupid bitch," Silver muttered.

Annie looked from Naomi's back to Silver. "Silver, can I ask you something without making you angry?"

Silver looked at her and said "Ask me and find out."

Annie twirled her fork through her salad. "I know she's a pain and all, but why do you hate Naomi so much?"

Silver's head snapped around to look at Annie. She considered not answering for a moment, but thought better of it.

Silver sighed. "Back in 8th grade, I caught my Dad having an affair with my Mom's best friend. I was… I was so angry. So unbelievably scared, that my Mom would find out… That she'd get a divorce, or start drinking again. So I didn't tell anyone, I, I kept it to myself. But it started eating away at me, you know?" Silver said shakily.

"Yeah, I know," Annie said rubbing Silver's arm sympathetically.

"I had to tell someone, so I told my best friend, Naomi," she continued icily.

Annie's eyes bulged.

Silver nodded. "Yup, who'd have thought? Anyway, she promised that she wouldn't tell anyone. So she told everyone," she said looking down. She took a deep painful breath before continuing. "Of course, my Mom found out, she confronted my Dad, and everything that I prayed wouldn't happen, happened," she concluded sadly.

"Woah, I'm sorry," Annie said solemnly.

"Yeah, me too," Silver agreed with a tight smile. "Anyway, it's ancient history. But that's why I have a firm commitment to hating Naomi Clark."

"A well justified reason," agreed Annie. *Poor Silver* she thought to herself as she squeezed Silver's arm affectionately.

The bell rang, pulling the girls out of their tender moment. "Off to Bio," Silver said with mock excitement.

"Fun!" exclaimed Annie. She linked arms with Silver as they left the cafeteria. Annie felt so sorry for Silver, so many of her friends parents were divorced, but she couldn't imagine what she'd do if it were her parents splitting up, her family falling apart.

The afternoon classes flew by and soon it was home time. Annie met Silver at her locker.

"Are you sure you want to take Dixon and I home, it's not too much trouble?" Annie asked.

"No way, it's totally fine," Silver assured her.

"Alright, cool. Thanks," Annie exclaimed.

They made their way to the car park and found Dixon sitting on the boot of her car.

"Dixon, get off!" yelled Annie, smacking his leg with her bag.

Silver laughed. "Its fine, it's nothing I don't do myself," she said.

Dixon laughed and got off the car. He patted Silver on the back and faced Annie. "Chill, sis," he said.

Annie rolled her eyes. "Just get in the back," she replied pointing to the backseat.

"Oh, what? I get the bitch seat? That's nice," he goaded her.

"Well Dix, you could always walk," suggested Silver with a smirk.

"Nah, nah it's cool. Annie gets automatic shotgun… I get it," Dixon backtracked as he climbed in the backseat.

"That's right," Annie said bumping fists with Silver. "Hoe's over bro's," she quipped with a laugh.

Silver laughed and nodded in the affirmative.

"You know, Silver, you might just have to let me drive this thing sometime," Dixon leaned forward and put his face close to hers. Silver gulped and turned her head slightly, her cheek nearly touching his.

"Mmm… We'll see how you play your cards," Silver raised her eyebrow suggestively.

Dixon leaned back, grinning. *Damn, this girl's got moves. I like it* Dixon thought to himself.

Annie watched the exchange, amused. She'd seen Dixon turn on the charm on many of her friends in Kansas, so she knew full well what he was up to. She wondered if he'd met his match in Silver, she was a lot spunkier than many of the girls he'd pursued in the past. It would definitely be fun to watch, that was for sure, Annie decided.

"Home, sweet home!" exclaimed Silver as she pulled into the Wilson's driveway.

Silver got out the car to say goodbye to Annie. She leaned against the bonnet of her car as Annie came around to meet her.

"Thanks again for the ride," Annie said gratefully.

"Would you stop thanking me! Really, it's my pleasure," Silver replied smiling.

Annie impulsively hugged Silver. Annie was a very affectionate, touchy, feely girl. At home, her friends jokingly dubbed her a 'hug slut.' Annie knew some people really didn't like to be touched and hugged and valued their personal space, and hoped Silver wasn't one of them. Luckily for her, she wasn't. And luckily for Silver, Annie put her arms around her neck, not her waist which would have caused excruciating pain. Silver returned the hug warmly as Dixon watched from behind. When the girls released each other, he stepped forward.

"Again, thank you for the lift," Dixon caught Silver's hand and brought it to his lips. Silver fought hard to keep a straight face and was just able to keep from smiling.

Annie put her hand on her hip and watched in amazement. Dixon sure didn't waste any time!

Dixon let go of Silver's hand, said goodbye and went inside the house.

Annie smirked and shook her head. "I can't take him anywhere," she said dramatically with a shrug of her shoulders.

Silver finally let a grin spread across her face, which turned slightly pink.

Annie laughed. "I'll call you later," she departed with a wave as she headed towards the front door.

Silver nodded. "Talk to you later!" She got back into her car and headed for home. There was really nothing for her to do to delay her arrival home today, she just hoped she could sneak in undetected and hide out in her room until her Mom fell asleep or passed out… Whichever came first.


	8. Chapter 8

She arrived in front of her house a few minutes later and looked around for any signs of life. She couldn't hear any noise coming from inside. She got out of her car, locked it and made her way to the front door. She opened it, inwardly pleading for the hinges not to creak. Thankfully, they made no noise. She snuck through the foyer and started quickly up the stairs. She was on the third step from the bottom when her phone began to ring.

"Shit," she hissed as she fumbled through her bag trying to find and silence it. She finally found it and leant against the wall and closed her eyes as she answered it.

"Hello?" she asked quietly.

"Hey Silver, its Annie. I think I left my Bio textbook in your car. Would I be able to come round and pick it up?" Annie asked.

As Silver opened her mouth to reply, she heard a noise on the stairs above her. She turned and opened her eyes to see her Mother lurching towards her. She dropped her phone in fear.

Annie heard the phone drop to the floor and became concerned. "Silver? Silver! Are you okay? Silver!" she yelled into the phone when she got no response. Suddenly, Annie heard loud shouting through the phone.

"You stupid bitch, I found your precious photos. What are you planning to do, huh? Call the cops on me? I'll give you something to tell them!"

Annie began to panic. She heard Silver pleading, trying to calm the other person down. *It must be her Mother* thought Annie. She then heard the sickening sound of Silver screaming and hard object striking her.

"Silver!" Annie screamed into the phone. Harry heard his daughter's scream and ran to her room.

"Annie, what's wrong?" Harry asked quickly. He looked at his daughter, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Annie rushed to her father and gave him her phone. "Listen Dad, Silver's in trouble," she said through her tears. Harry heard the screams and sobbing through the phone before it was anywhere near his ear and he paled instantly.

"Good God," he muttered. "Annie, go out to the car, I'll be there in a minute. Debbie!" he called running from Annie's bedroom. "Debbie! Get my rolodex and call Kelly Taylor, tell her to meet us at the St Luke's Hospital. It's about Silver. Call the cops and tell them there's a violent domestic at Jackie Taylor's residence," he yelled as he ran down the stairs and grabbed his wallet and keys.

Dixon heard the commotion and ran out. "Dad, what's going on?" he asked in concern.

Harry looked at his son. He knew he had a bad temper and didn't want him injected into an already volatile situation. "Stay with your Mother, Dixon," Harry said firmly. "Go help her make the necessary phone calls," he said as he ran out of the front door, unlocking the car as he did.

Annie jumped into the front seat. "God I hope they still live in the same house," Harry remarked. He turned to Annie. "Quick honey, call directory assistance and ask for Jackie Taylor's home address."

Annie made the call as Harry took a chance and began speeding off to the home where Kelly had grown up. "Dad, Silver's house is 132 Ardmore Drive," Annie said quickly, thanking the operator before she hung up.

"Good, we're nearly there. Annie, I want you to stay behind me at all times, okay? I don't know what is going on in that house and I don't want you to get hurt too," Harry said seriously. He took a quick glance at his daughter, crying and scared for her friend.

"Okay, Daddy," she said sounding so small and faraway.

"Good girl," he mumbled as he screeched to a halt in the Taylor's driveway.

"Dad, Silver's car – she's here," Annie stammered.

They rushed from the car to the front door. Harry looked through the window next to the door to check for Jackie or anyone else in the house.

He carefully turned the doorknob, grateful that the door was unlocked. He let himself in and ushered Annie in after him, closing the door behind them. He held Annie by the arm, keeping her close behind him. They turned the corner exiting the foyer towards the stairs and Harry heard Annie gasp.

"Silver," she whispered.

Harry followed his daughter's gaze and saw Silver sprawled out at the foot of the stairs, a baseball bat next to her lifeless form and an already darkening lump on her temple.

"Oh no… God no," Harry swore.

Harry and Annie rushed to Silver's side. "Annie, put your back to the wall," he thought quickly. He didn't know who else was in the house and he didn't want anyone surprising them from behind. "Stay here with her," he ordered. Staying close to the walls and still trying to keep Annie and Silver in his line of vision, he looked into the living room and found Jackie who appeared to be passed out on the couch. He moved a little closer and heard her burp. He stopped immediately, and quickly surveyed the situation. There were three empty vodka bottles strewn next to her on the couch as well as what looked like empty cocaine vials and straws. Harry shook his head and quietly snuck back to the stairs where he found Annie moving around the room, taking photos of Silver and the bat. Harry heard a car pull up outside, and cops quickly entered the home. They took one look at Silver and began spreading out to search the house. Harry quickly piped up.

"Her Mother did this," he said. "My daughter was on the phone to Silver and we heard Jackie attacking her and we called you and came here. Jackie is on the couch in the next room."

Annie held out her phone. "My phone has a function which records the last phone call, it'd be on there," she said meekly.

"We need to get her to the hospital," Harry replied urgently.

"Of course," an officer said quickly taking a few pictures of the scene.

"There are some photos on my phone, too," Annie said.

The officer smiled. "Okay, get this girl to the hospital. Follow us, we'll clear a path," he offered.

Harry thanked him. He threw Annie his keys and told her to go unlock the car. He carefully picked up Silver and carried her to the car. Annie was sitting in the backseat, waiting for her father. He slid in the back next to her, lying Silver down on the backseat with Annie cradling Silver's head in her lap. Annie quickly put the seatbelt around her as best she could and stroked her hair. Before they pulled out the driveway, Annie looked back at the house and saw the other officers frog-marching Jackie out of the house. One had a zip lock bag full of empty alcohol bottles and needles.

"Daddy, what was happening in that house?" Annie asked in horror, looking at Silver's rapidly swelling face.

Harry looked at his daughter in the rear-view mirror. She got so attached to people so quickly, and was fiercely loyal to those she loved. His thoughts then travelled to the girl lying unconscious on the backseat. Silver was only 10 months older than Annie, but he felt a sort of bond with the child. Silver was the first baby he ever spent time with, and after Debbie fell pregnant with Annie, he began looking at baby Erin in a new light. He grew very attached to her when she was young, and it broke his heart to see her this way. Harry sighed and refocused his attention back on the road.

They reached the hospital quickly. The police officer stopped in front of him and his partner ran in to get help ready. The other stayed behind and said he'd watch the car and make sure it wasn't towed, seeing as they were in a loading zone. Harry threw off his seatbelt and opened the back door to get to Silver. Her shirt rode up as he carefully slid her out of the car. Annie caught sight of the bruises covering Silver's midsection and cried out.

"Dad, look at her!" Harry looked at Silver, limp in his arms. He quickly saw what caused the fear in Annie's voice.

"Jesus Christ," he stammered. He quickly turned her towards the police officer and showed him the bruises quickly. His face turned ashen and he got on the radio. He noticed them still standing there, waiting for him.

"Go," he urged them. "I have a daughter about her age… We'll take care of the monster that did that to her," he growled.

Harry ran into the Emergency Room and almost collided with the other cop who was being followed with a Doctor and several nurses wheeling a gurney.

Harry cautiously laid her on the gurney and he and Annie ran alongside it and filled the medical team in on the details.

"Her Mom did this with a baseball bat. There are also bruises all along her right side that look a bit older. Her Mom was nearly passed out and there was booze and drugs everywhere," Harry quickly told them.

"Thank you, you did a great job. We'll run a tox-screen to check she wasn't given anything. If you'll stay in the waiting room, we'll keep you updated," the doctor said as they pushed through doors that led to a restricted area. Annie fell into her father's embrace.


	9. Chapter 9

Harry sat with his arm around Annie. He heard heels clicking rapidly as someone hurried into the waiting room. He looked up to see Kelly looking around frantically.

"Kelly," he called urgently.

Kelly turned and saw Harry. She rushed over, eyes wide and scared.

"Harry, your wife called – what happened to her?" she whispered as tears spilled down her cheeks.

Harry grabbed Kelly's hands. "Annie called Erin, she left something in Erin's car after she gave her and Dixon a ride home this afternoon," he began. He looked at Annie to jump in. Kelly followed his gaze and took in Annie. She looked so scared. Kelly sat next to her and put her hand on Annie's shoulder.

"What happened then, Annie?" she prompted.

Annie took a deep breath. "Silver answered, she said hello then I asked if I could come get a book I forgot. Then she dropped the phone and I heard a woman yelling, she said something about finding Silver's photos and asked if she was planning to call the cops. Then the voice screamed that she'd give her something to tell the cops when she called them… Then…" Annie trailed off as she began to cry again.

Kelly was beginning to panic. "What, Annie?" she asked desperately.

"Silver… Started screaming. I heard the noise of something hitting her, it turned out to be a baseball bat," Annie finished.

Harry took over again. "I heard Annie screaming in her room, she was calling out to Silver through the phone and I heard much of it too," he said gently. "It was your Mom, Kelly," he added hesitantly. Kelly felt like she'd been hit in the stomach. Harry guided her to a chair behind her.

"That's not all," Harry continued quietly. "When we got her here, her shirt slid up and well, Kel, she's got bruises all over her," he said slowly, watching Kelly for her reaction.

Kelly remained stoic for a moment before completely dissolving in tears. "Oh, God," she cried. "Why did I leave her in that house?" she turned to Harry. "You know what Mom did to me when I was Silver's age, how could I not have seen the signs? How could I let this happen?" Kelly slumped forward sobbing. Harry enveloped her in his arms, and he stroked her back as she cried.

Suddenly, she bolted upright. Harry looked at her, concerned. "What is it, Kel?" he asked.

Kelly put her head in her hands. "At school today, I tickled her waist and she was nearly crying from pain. She told me she had cramps," she exclaimed. "Why didn't she tell me?" she screamed as she began sobbing uncontrollably again.

Harry closed his eyes briefly. "Kel, she was probably scared. She's just a kid, and this is a lot for anyone to deal with, let alone someone Erin's age," he justified.

"Why didn't she tell me?" Kelly repeated.

Suddenly, a doctor emerged from the restricted area. "Family of Erin Silver?" he announced.

Kelly, Annie and Harry all leaped to their feet. The doctor allowed them back into towards the ER rooms. As he led them to Silver's room, he began to fill them in. He turned towards Kelly and asked "Erin is your… Daughter?" he guessed.

"No, she's my sister," Kelly answered sniffing. "How is she?"

The doctor shook his head. "She took a hell of a beating," he said sympathetically. "The good news is, there's no brain swelling, no concussion, there are no broken bones and she's awake. The tox-screen came back negative, as well," he added.

"Tox-screen?" Kelly repeated. "Why did you do a tox-screen?"

The doctor looked at Harry. "Well, we were told there was a significant amount of drugs and alcohol located at the scene near the assailant," the doctor explained. "We just wanted to be sure she hadn't been slipped anything."

Kelly stopped walking. She could barely believe what she was hearing. Her Mom had regressed to the point of taking hard drugs again and poor Silver copped the consequences of it.

Harry took Kelly's arm. "Kel, she's going to be okay. The doctor said she's awake, she needs you now more than ever," he pointed out gently.

Kelly looked at Harry as if in a daze. She felt Annie slip her hand into hers and grip it tightly. Kelly turned and looked at Annie, the poor girl was so scared and sad. This was a whole new world for Annie, and for Kelly unfortunately it was history repeating itself. Although it had never been this bad when she had been the one living it, her Mom barely touched her, let alone beat her with a bat within an inch of her life. Kelly looked back at the doctor. "Where is she?" she asked.

"Through here, although you should go one at a time," he advised. Annie instantly let go of Kelly's hand. Kelly shot a quick smile at the girl and ran a hand over her hair. She turned to Harry and said "I'll be back out soon, then Annie can go in."

"Take your time, Kel. We'll be here waiting for you," Harry said with Annie nodding in agreement.

Kelly pushed open the door and saw her baby sister lying on the hospital bed. She had a massive lump on her temple and looked drowsy.

Silver saw movement from the corner of her eye and slowly turned her head to look towards the door to her room. Her vision was still a little blurred, but she could make out a person standing in her room. The person moved closer until Silver was able to recognise her.

"Kelly?" she croaked.

That set off a whole new round of tears for Kelly. "Erin, baby," Kelly said gathering her carefully into her arms. Silver leaned into Kelly as she held her tightly. Kelly pulled away and looked into her eyes. "Silver, why didn't you tell me?" Kelly asked gently. She didn't need to be any more specific than that. Not with her sister.

Silver swallowed and looked down. "Mom blames me for you hating her," she whispered slowly. "She said it was my fault our family fell apart, and that you felt the same way. I didn't even want to talk to you about Mom because I didn't want you to tell me that what she said was true. I didn't want you to hate me too, Kelly," Silver said burying her face in her hands and crying.

Kelly took in the scene in front of her. She felt a rage rising up inside her like she'd never felt before. Kelly got Silver's attention. "Baby, look at me. Mom is sick. She doesn't know what she's talking about… Believe me when I tell you – none of this is your fault, Erin." Kelly's heart nearly broke as she saw the doubt in her sister's eyes. "Erin, I love you, okay? I love you! I don't blame you for anything, sweetheart, and it breaks my heart that you didn't know that for sure," Kelly continued, tucking a strand of hair behind Silver's ear.

Silver brought her hand up and rested it on Kelly's, which was tenderly cupping her cheek. She lifted her tear filled eyes to meet her sisters. "I love you too, Kelly," she choked out before she began crying freely again.

Kelly kissed Silver's forehead and wiped away her tears before she pulled a chair close to the bed. "Erin – sorry… Silver," Kelly corrected herself with a small smile.

Silver giggled a little. "It's okay, you can call me Erin while I'm in here," Silver relented.

Kelly agreed. "Okay. Erin… Show me the bruises," Kelly pleaded.

Silver's breath hitched in her throat. She swallowed and slowly pulled away the blanket. She reached down and pulled her hospital gown from her knees up to her neck, revealing a solid line of black, blue and purple bruises from her thighs to her armpit along her right side. Silver kept her eyes trained on Kelly's face, which distorted as she gasped in horror. She stood up and moved closer to examine the bruises. After a few minutes of silently crying looking at Silver's injuries, Kelly pulled Silver's hospital gown back down into place. Kelly struggled to make eye contact with her sister and when she finally did, she completely broke down.

"Oh baby," she wailed as she carefully hugged Silver. "I am so sorry, I should have known Mom couldn't stay sober. I should have known… I'm so sorry, Erin."

Silver clung to her sister. "Kelly, it wasn't your fault. How could you have known?"

Kelly pulled back. "I should have known because I know Mom," Kelly said acidly. "I know she is a pathetic, spineless, weak woman who always put herself before her children. I lived through it for 16 years too, Erin, although it wasn't nearly as bad as what you have had to live through, sweetie," Kelly emphasised. "Then it stopped. It got better. Do you know why?" Kelly asked.

Silver shook her head.

"It got better because of you. You were born and Mom was happy and kind and loving again, like I could barely remember her ever being. You were my angel, Erin. You saved me from Mom's wrath. You were my hero. I gave you your bear and named it Hero for that reason," Kelly explained with a smile.

"You did?" Silver asked.

"I did," Kelly confirmed. A sad look came over Kelly's face. "You were my hero, you saved me and this is how I repay you," she said sadly. "I leave you with that monster and she did this to you!" A realisation hit Kelly like a truck. "Sweetheart, is this the first time she's ever hurt you?" Kelly asked hopefully.

Silver regretfully shook her head. She took a shaky breath before continuing. "That's what set her off today, Kelly," she began to slowly explain. "Whenever Mom would get violent, I'd take pictures of the aftermath. All the bruises, the cuts, everything. I dated each of them and wrote how she hurt me on them and hid them all in a box in my closet. She found them while I was at school today and…" Silver had to pause to catch her breath.

Kelly could figure out the rest on her own, and didn't want Silver to have to rehash all the horrible details any more than she had to. "Shhh," she said soothingly as she stroked Silver's hair. "I know."

Silver suddenly looked around and asked "how did I get here?"

Kelly reached out and held her hand. "You don't remember?" Kelly replied gently.

Silver shook her head in confusion.

"You were on the phone to Annie when Mom attacked you… You dropped your phone, but Annie stayed on the line. She heard the whole thing, and she and her Dad came and got you out of there," Kelly said smiling.

Silver closed her eyes and put her face into her hands. "Great," she muttered. "I finally make a real friend at school and not only does she find out my secret, she finds me unconscious because of it." Silver looked away with tears in her eyes. "She'll probably want nothing to do with me anymore," she concluded sadly.

Kelly smiled and smoothed Silver's hair back. "Don't be so sure," she replied cryptically. "I'll be back in a second, sweetie," she said before leaving the room.


	10. Chapter 10

Kelly took a few steps out into the hall before Annie noticed her. She instantly jumped to her feet and paled in anticipation. "Kelly, how is she?" she asked quickly.

"She's fine, Annie. I think she's more worried about you, what you walked in on and how you feel about it," hinted Kelly. "Why don't you go in and see her?"

Annie grinned and looked at her Dad. "Go ahead, princess. Take as long as you want," he urged her.

Annie moved towards the door and pushed it open. Silver heard someone enter but couldn't tell who it was. She squinted and tried to focus on the figure and her vision began to clear. She saw Annie standing just inside the door, and it was clear she'd been crying. Silver cleared her throat. "Annie?" she whispered hoarsely.

Annie stepped forward, nodding in the affirmative. Silver did what she could to muster a smile, causing Annie to hurry to her side. She shyly held Silver's hand and looked at her closely. "Silver, are you alright?" she asked in a small voice. A tear rolled down Annie's cheek and landed on the back of Silver's hand. Silver took a moment before she replied. "No… No I'm not. But I will be," she said with renewed hope.

Annie raised her gaze to meet Silver's. "I hope you will. I'm so sorry you had to go through this, Silver," Annie responded as she brushed tears off Silver's cheeks, who was now crying again.

Silver tried to pull herself up, to no avail. She was still very weak and woozy. "I'm sorry you had to hear it all happening, and then see me the way I was," Silver countered, trying to reassure Annie.

Annie shook her head. "I'm just glad you're safe now," she said. Her eyes drifted to Silver's stomach. "Silver… What, um… What did she do to you?" she asked in a small voice.

Silver looked straight ahead and sighed sadly. "You saw those too?" she asked.

Annie nodded. "When Dad lifted you from the car, you shirt came up a little…" Annie tried to explain.

Silver nodded and sighed again. "I found my Mom's cocaine stash a few days ago, and I flushed it. It was stupid," she chastised herself. "Anyway, she realised it was gone and put two and two together and decided to teach me a lesson with the fireplace poker," Silver continued bitterly as she looked away, ashamed.

Annie turned Silver's face back towards her. "Silver, I'm so sorry. But you have to know that it's not your fault, you didn't ask for this!" Annie exclaimed.

Silver nodded through her tears. "I know," she said half-heartedly. Her eyes met Annie's again and the look of doubt and despair Annie found in them broke her heart. Annie launched herself at Silver and hugged her close. Silver held her just as tightly as they cried in each other's arms. When they let go, Annie realised that she was pretty much sitting on the bed, which made Silver laugh when she pointed it out. Silver shuffled over as best she could, making room for Annie next to her. Annie lay down next to Silver on the bed and clutched her hand, bringing it to her chest.

Silver stalled several times while she spoke to Annie. "Annie, I totally understand if this is too much for you to handle, if you don't wanna hang out anymore," she stammered, wanting to give Annie an easy out if she wanted one. Annie propped herself up with her elbow so Silver could see her clearly.

"Silver, I'd be lying if I said this didn't change how I think of you," Annie admitted. Silver's lip began quivering straight away. Annie continued, "Now it's clear to me that you are the strongest person I know," she finished.

Silver's eyes flew to Annie's face, searching for any chance that she was lying. "Really?" Silver replied.

"Really!" Annie said, taking a hold of Silver's hand once more. "To have kept this all to yourself, and have gone through what you did all alone, that takes such courage," Annie admired. "And I never would have thought, ever, that you dealt with what you did at home. You were so sweet, so happy since I met you, even while you had those bruises, you never let it show though they must hurt like hell," Annie sympathised.

Silver nodded. "Yeah, they do," she agreed.

"I know we only met the other day, but I really care about you, Silver! You're my first LA friend, the only person who's given a rat's ass about me since I got here. You had my back yesterday, let me have yours now," Annie said gently.

Silver smiled. "Thanks, Annie," she said gratefully before stifling a yawn.

"Oh, you must be tired," Annie said wanting to kick herself. "I'll let you get some rest," she said moving to get off the bed.

Silver's hand darted out and grabbed Annie's arm to stop her. "No," she said quickly. Annie turned around and saw a look of both fear and pleading in Silver's eyes. "Don't leave," she begged.

"Okay, I won't go anywhere. I'll stay right here with you," Annie vowed, moving back to Silver's side. She got herself comfortable there, sitting next to Silver and leaning on the pillows against headboard. Silver's hand crept up and found Annie's, and she held on tightly. Annie, smiled through more tears as she put her other hand around Silver's shoulder. Silver moved her head onto Annie's stomach and promptly fell asleep. After watching her sleep for a few minutes, Annie's eyes began to get heavy and soon, she too was asleep. They were in the same position when Harry and Kelly entered the room nearly half an hour later to check on the girls. Kelly choked up when she took in the scene in front of her. Harry smiled in spite of the circumstances. "It's nearly a Kodak moment, huh?" he joked. Kelly turned to him in thought, and pulled out her cell phone.

Kelly quickly snapped a picture on her cell. She turned to Harry and explained "Silver had a hard time in school the past couple of years, all her friends turned on her and she's been a very lonely girl," she said grimly. "And despite the setting, I think Erin would treasure this moment." Kelly smiling as she looked back over at the girls.

Harry nodded. "Should we wake them up?" he asked.

Kelly shook her head. "No, they look too sweet. Let's leave them for now," she decided. Kelly had been given the all clear to take Silver home. She'd been talking with the police for the past 20 minutes and it had been decided that Kelly was to have sole custody of Silver until she was of age. Subsequently, both Mel and Jackie would have to pay child support to Kelly to cover all of Erin's costs, as well as provide a small amount of money to Kelly each month as both punishment for their inability to be real parents to Erin and to help Kelly because she was stepping in to take care of her sister.

Kelly looked towards Harry. "Thank you, Harry, from the bottom of my heart," Kelly stuttered. "God only knows what would have happened if you and Annie hadn't gotten her out of there when you did."

Harry took Kelly in his arms. "It's my pleasure, Kel," he reassured her. "All the thanks I need is to see Silver smile once she's fully recovered and living with you."

Annie stirred on the bed and opened her eyes. Kelly noticed and put her finger to her lips, indicating that Silver was still sleeping. Annie looked down at her friend and smiled at the visual. As Annie shifted slightly under Silver, she woke up as well, slowly remembering where she was and why. Silver lifted her head and saw Kelly and Harry making their way to the side of the bed.

"Hey, kiddo," Harry greeted her with a warm smile and a kiss on her forehead.

Kelly smiled when she heard Harry call Silver her childhood nickname that he gave her so long ago.

Silver smiled at Harry. "Kelly told me you and Annie saved me," she said gratefully.

Harry perched on the side of the bed, still smiling at her. "I'd do it all again for you in a heartbeat, kiddo," he replied kindly as he squeezed her arm affectionately.

"Thank you… Really, thank you both," she said to Annie also. "I know what would likely have happened had you not come and got me out of there…" Silver drifted off, her voice breaking.

"Nothing's going to happen to you anymore, Silver," Kelly interjected. "I'm going to make sure of that."

Silver looked at her sister tearfully. "How? You know Mom… Eventually, she'll do it again!" she said with eyes wide with fear.

Kelly rushed to her side and held her face in her hands. "Because, you aren't going back to Mom's, ever. You're moving in with me," she told her sister.

Silver's eyes lit up. "Really?" she asked excitedly.

Kelly smiled lovingly. "Really," she said firmly. "The cops were so disgusted at the state of you, they went straight from accompanying Harry and Annie here to the courthouse to petition to get me sole custody of you, which I now have," Kelly's smile grew as a grin spread over Silver's face, lighting it up brightly.

"When can I get out of here?" she asked excitedly. For the first time in a long time, she was eager to go home.

"Right now," Kelly told her happily. "But you have to take it easy when we get home," she warned her.

"Oh, don't worry, I fully expect you to be waiting on me hand and foot," she replied with her trademark wit. Kelly grinned and hugged Silver. Her sister was coming back to her and Kelly couldn't have been more thrilled.

Just then, several nurses entered the room to transfer Silver from the bed into a wheelchair. Harry ushered them away and moved to pick up Silver himself. Annie smiled as she watched her father carefully lift Silver off the bed and get her settled into the awaiting wheelchair. Annie quickly jumped down from the bed and moved behind the wheelchair to push it. Silver's doctor brought Kelly the discharge papers to sign.

"You take it easy now, Miss, you had quite a knock to the head," the doctor said sternly.

"You're not kidding, it's pounding," Silver said wincing.

The doctor chuckled and wrote a prescription. "These painkillers should do the trick," he said handing the slip to Kelly. "Bring her back for a check up in a week," he added with a smile. Kelly thanked him and he left.

Kelly turned to Silver. "Well, what now?" she asked her sister.

Silver grinned. "Home, James!" she quipped, making everyone laugh. They began to make their way to the car park.


	11. Chapter 11

Harry and Annie waited with Silver while Kelly brought her car around. Kelly soon arrived and waited for Silver to say goodbye to Annie before they moved her from the wheelchair to the car.

Silver looked at Annie somewhat sadly. Annie began tearing up instantly again and leaned forward to hug her goodbye. Silver looked at Kelly over Annie's shoulder, pleading with her eyes. She didn't want Annie to go, she wanted to spend more time with her. Kelly saw how distressed Silver was getting and decided to go out on a limb.

"Annie," she called, getting the girl's attention. When Annie turned to look at her, she continued. "Would you like to spend the night?" she offered with a smile.

Annie broke into a grin. "Yeah!" she exclaimed. "Are you sure?" she asked Kelly.

"Of course," Kelly replied.

Harry cleared his throat. "I'll get Mom to drop a bag around later, Annie?" he asked.

Kelly jumped in. "Oh, I'm sure we could find some clothes in either Silver's wardrobe or mine," she said.

"Yeah but would she want to wear them?" Harry snorted. "I remember what you wore in the 90's," teased Harry.

Kelly scowled at him. "You're one to talk," she replied unable to hold back her laughter.

Annie stepped in. "Dad, I'll be fine for tonight. Thanks anyway though," she said giving her father a kiss on the cheek and hugging him.

"No worries, princess," he said as he hugged her back. "Alright, let's get you into the car Miss Silver," Harry said decisively.

"I can get in okay, I think," Silver piped up.

"Well, all the same. You'll be getting out and around at home by yourself, just humour me kiddo," Harry said as bent over and scooped her up. As he lifted her to put her in the car, she threaded her arms around his neck to keep her balance. After a moment though, she tightened her grip and hugged Harry. "Thank you for saving me, Harry," she whispered.

"Anytime, kiddo," he replied with a smile. Annie rushed around the other side of the backseat to help Silver get comfortable. Kelly watched everyone else get settled before getting into the car herself. "Bye, Harry!" Kelly called out her window. Harry jogged around and kissed Kelly's cheek through the open window.

"Bye Kel, girls!" he responded, waving goodbye. He watched the car drive away with a sigh. With that, he turned and got in his car to go home and fill his wife and son in on what happened.

*********

Silver dozed on and off on the way home from the hospital. She felt the car stop for an extended period and assumed they were at home. She opened her eyes, bolted upright and instantly began to panic. They were at her Mom's house, not Kelly's house like Silver was expecting. Kelly heard her hyperventilating and turned around in concern.

"Silver! Sweetheart, it's okay. She's not here," Kelly explained. "I called ahead to the police station while I was getting the car, they said they would keep her there until we have all of your stuff out of the house," Kelly explained. "I'm sorry, I should have told you," she said, getting angry at herself.

Silver's breathing slowly regulated again. Kelly continued to watch her. "Good girl, slow breaths, good girl," chanted Kelly.

Once Silver was fully calmed down, Kelly spoke again. "Would you like to wait out here while Annie and I grab your things, or do you feel up to coming in?"

The last thing Silver wanted to do was go in there, but she wanted to make sure that she got her prized possessions out of that house and away from her psychotic Mother.

"No, I'll come in," she replied.

"Alright then," Annie said, getting out of the car and holding the door open for Silver. "If you're coming in, then jump on," she said turning around so that her back was to Silver.

"You're kidding, aren't you Annie?" laughed Silver.

Annie turned her head and raised an eyebrow. "Do I look like I'm kidding? I'm my Father's daughter and I will not take no for an answer, climb on!" she insisted with a small smile.

Silver sighed dramatically and hopped gently onto Annie's back. Kelly watched the exchange with amusement, she was so glad Silver had Annie for a friend. Especially after this craziness with their Mother, Silver could definitely use a girlfriend to confide in.

With Silver perched on her back, Annie followed Kelly into the house and up to Silver's room. Strewn across the bed were Silver's photos. As soon as Annie entered the room and Silver saw them, she began struggling to be let down.

"Kelly, don't look at those," she demanded.

Kelly looked at Silver, slightly taken aback.

Silver softened and rephrased her request. "I'll show you soon, just not now," Silver explained. "I don't think I could deal with anymore crying today."

Kelly understood. "Sure, honey. You take a minute and gather them all up then," Kelly said as she put her arm around Annie and they turned away, giving Silver some privacy.

Silver forced the lid back onto the box. "Done," she uttered in relief.

Kelly and Annie turned around. Kelly headed for the closet where she figured Silver's luggage would be. Guessing correctly, she pulled out all the suitcases and opened them on the floor. Annie had already began emptying the clothes out of Silver's drawers while Kelly attacked the closet.

"Damn you have a lot of clothes, Silver!" Kelly exclaimed. "I'm gonna have to lose some weight so I can be skinny again and borrow some," she joked.

Silver laughed. "Both of you can borrow whatever you want, whenever you want," she offered generously. Kelly laughed and turned back to the closet.

"Erin," she called softly as she pulled a battered, leather jacket from the closet.

Silver looked over when Kelly called her and realised why. She looked at her feet, her cheeks turning pink.


	12. Chapter 12

Annie was confused. "What?" she asked.

Kelly fingered the buttons on the jacket. "This was Dylan's," she said, half to Annie and half talking to herself. Kelly looked at Silver, amazed. "You kept this all these years?" she asked astounded.

Silver nodded.

"Why?" Kelly asked. "Surely you couldn't have worn it?"

Silver shrugged and started to dig the toe of her Converses into the rug. "So I would remember what Dylan said to me the day he gave it to me to wear," she answered simply.

Kelly wracked her brain, trying to think back to that time in her life. "Wait a minute, you were like 4! How do you remember that?"

Again, Silver shrugged. "I guess what he said was so profound, I realised at 4 that he was right," she replied.

Now Kelly was intrigued. "What did he say to you?"

Silver looked at her and sighed. This was probably going to end badly. "He said 'Let me tell you something, Erin, you take it from me, don't let anyone get too close. You'll just get burned. Rule number one, the only person you can trust in this world is yourself,'" she recited.

Kelly was amazed that Dylan would have said that to a 4-year old, and also that Silver remembered it all these years, and kept that jacket to remind her.

"Sweetie, you know Dylan is a very cynical person, right?" prompted Kelly.

"Yes, I know all about Dylan. He was in a dark place when you guys were younger. But what he said turned out to be true!" Silver exclaimed.

"What?" Kelly said. "How?"

Silver looked at her hands. "The only person I ever let in was Naomi… I told her about Dad's affair and she told everyone. She's the reason Mom and Dad split up, she's the reason Mom started drinking again, she's the reason all this is happening!" Silver screamed.

Kelly rushed to kneel in front of Silver. She took her in her arms as she cried yet again that day. Kelly knew Silver had it tough over the past few years, but had no clue about any of the details. "Silver, I wish you'd told me what Naomi did," said Kelly softly. "I would've arranged for her to get expelled!" she joked, making Silver laugh.

Annie had been watching the conversation passively, not knowing who they were talking about. "Who's Dylan?" Annie asked.

"Oh, I forgot, you're new to the drama," Kelly said with a sarcastic laugh. "Dylan is my ex, and my son's father."

"Oh," she replied awkwardly.

Annie moved over to Silver's side. "I know Naomi screwed you over, but that wasn't your fault! It wasn't because you let someone in, it was because you let the wrong person in. I'd never do anything like that, I'd never break your trust in me, Silver," implored Annie. "Not everyone is like Naomi!"

Kelly nodded. "She's right babe, you can't go through life not loving anyone, not letting people love you. You just wouldn't survive," concluded Kelly.

"I guess…" Silver relented. "Can we talk about this another time, please? I just wanna get out of here," begged Silver.

"Of course, honey," Kelly said. She began to fold the leather jacket as she walked back over to the suitcase. Just as she was packing it, Silver stopped her.

"Kelly," Silver said falteringly.

Kelly looked up. "Yeah?" she asked.

"Don't pack that… I don't think I need to remind me of anything anymore," Silver said, smiling at Annie who squeezed her hand.

Kelly smiled at the scene before her. Her baby sister was going to be fine.

Within about an hour, Kelly and Annie had Silver's stuff all packed up and in the car. Silver stood in the foyer and looked around. She was getting memory flashes, parts of the beating returning to her memory. She shivered not from the temperature, but from fear. She was glad she could walk away from this place and never come back if she didn't want to. She was startled out of her musings when Annie came up beside her.

"Alright, back on you get," Annie said turning around so Silver could get a piggy back ride back to the car.

Silver decided not to bother arguing and jumped straight on. Annie put her in the backseat and paused before getting in next to her.

"Kelly, what about Silver's car?" Annie asked.

"Oh thanks, Annie, I nearly forgot!" Kelly exclaimed. Kelly turned around and took in her sister. Silver couldn't drive it. "Silver, do you have your keys on you?" she asked.

"Yup…" Silver replied digging them out of her hip pocket and handing them over.

Kelly stepped out of the car and turned to face Annie. "Have fun, Annie," she said tossing her the keys to the car.

Annie's jaw dropped in a grin as she caught them. "Awesome!"

Silver laughed at Annie's excitement. "Just don't crash it!" she teased.

"Just follow me, Annie," Kelly told her as she got back into the car. She started it and both cars began to make their way down the driveway.

Silver watched the house get smaller and smaller and finally disappear from her sight as they drove away. She smiled and felt as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

*********


	13. Chapter 13

"Home sweet home," Kelly remarked walking onto her front porch. She turned to Annie and brought her finger to her lips. Silver giggled quietly, knowing what was coming. Kelly threw open the door and screamed "come greet me with hugs and kisses if you love me!"

A diminutive little boy laughed loudly and ran from his hiding place behind the couch and jumped into Kelly's waiting arms. He had a head of gorgeous blonde curls and the cutest little dimples. It was then that he noticed Silver, who had just slid off Annie's back. He gasped over Kelly's shoulder and broke into a grin. "Aunty Erin!" he exclaimed. Kelly lowered her son to the ground and he threw himself at Silver. Silver laughed and knelt down to his level and wrapped him in a bear hug. She loved her little nephew to death.

"Hey, Sammy!" she replied pulling back to look at him. "Guess what?"

Sammy looked even more excited. "What, Aunty Erin?"

"I'm going to be living here from now on, with you and Mommy!" Silver said animatedly.

Sammy's mouth dropped open. He turned to look at his Mom for confirmation who nodded as well. Sammy looked back at Silver and shouted "yaaay!" and jumped up and down.

Annie watched the adorable scene unfold. "Man, I wish I got this kind of reception when I get home everyday," she remarked.

Sammy turned his attention to Annie. "Are you going to live here too, lady?" he asked innocently.

Kelly laughed. "It's not nice to call people 'lady,' Sammy," she gently chastised him. "This is Aunty Erin's friend, Annie."

"Oh," Sammy said thoughtfully, cocking his head to one side. He turned to his Mom, covered his mouth and whispered loudly enough for Annie and Silver to hear "can I hug her?"

Kelly stifled a giggle. Her son was too sweet. "I think that'd be okay," she whispered back, just as loudly.

Sammy smiled and ambled over to Annie with his arms outstretched. Annie leant over and returned his hug. He stepped back and repeated his unanswered question.

"Are you going to live here too, Annie?" he asked, smiling after he got a thumbs up from Kelly for asking it right.

Annie nodded. "I'm going to be living here tonight!" she replied.

"Okay!" he said clapping his hands. "Come see my room," he said, clutching onto Annie's index finger. Annie laughed as she got puled away. Kelly laughed and thanked her neighbour for looking after Sammy. After walking her to the door, she returned to the living room and looked at Silver, who was now sitting on one of her suitcases. She moved over and sat beside her.

"You doing okay?" Kelly checked.

Silver nodded. "Thanks for inviting Annie over Kel, I just… don't wanna be alone anymore," she finished.

Kelly nodded, understood. "Come on hun, let's get you settled," Kelly said, standing and offering her sister a hand to help her up.

Silver smiled and gripped her sister's hand, pulling herself to her feet. Both she and Kelly grabbed a suitcase each and headed to what was now Silver's room.

About 15 minutes later, Annie finally escaped Sammy. It had been awhile since she had spent any length of time around young kids and forgot how enamoured they were with a new person. Annie looked around the living room, unsure where Kelly and Silver were.

"Marco!" she yelled jokingly.

Silver heard Annie looking for them and replied "polo!"

Moments later, Annie walked through the door grinning. "Kelly, your son is beautiful," she said sincerely.

"Thank you," Kelly replied with a smile.

"Damn he can talk!" laughed Annie.

Kelly shook her head. "Ahh, what can I say – he's his mother's son," confessed Kelly. She looked at her watch and was surprised to find it was nearly 7 o'clock.

"Who's hungry?" asked Kelly.

Both Silver and Annie suddenly realised how hungry they were. "What should we have?" Silver asked.

Kelly frowned slightly. "I really couldn't be bothered cooking anything, plus I'm hungry now. Who's up for some Chinese takeout?" she asked the girls.

"Yum," replied Annie approvingly.

"I second that," added Silver. Kelly left the room and came back shortly with the local Chinese restaurant's menu and the three of them quickly put together a huge order.

"Be right back," Kelly said, heading off to go place their order.

Annie walked over to the bed, now covered with Silver's quilt, and sat down next to Silver. She looked around the room. It was clear that Silver had been busy decorating her room, while Kelly had been the practical Mom and unpacked her clothes and things.

"It's beginning to look good," commented Annie.

Silver took in her room. She liked the way that sounded, even in her head. *This was her room,* she thought with a smile. "Yeah, it is," Silver agreed.

Silver looked at Annie, as if considering whether or not to say something. "Annie," she began hesitantly.

"What, Silver?" Annie prodded gently.

"Thank you… Thank you for not being scared away by what happened today. It really means so much," Silver said, taking a moment before she was able to lift her gaze to meet Annie's.

Annie's heart melted. She's never seen such a strong person reduced to such vulnerability. Annie shifted closer to Silver on the bed. "You know, I fall for people quickly. And I fall hard, for boyfriends and friends. It usually winds up getting me hurt, but I feel everything and I feel it deep," she explained. "Like I said earlier, I know we only just met Silver, but I absolutely adore you! You are the coolest person I have ever met… You're so sweet and funny. You were the first and so far the only person to be kind or friendly to me at school! And I'm partial to anyone who doesn't treat me like a total reject loser," joked Annie, drawing a laugh from Silver. "But seriously, I care about you, Silver, and I could never just turn my back on people I love," Annie said putting her arm around Silver.

Silver looked into Annie's eyes as what she just said sunk in. That was about the nicest thing anyone had ever said to her, and it was something she desperately needed to hear. All her life, the people Silver had trusted and loved had either betrayed her or left her. Annie had the opportunity and a great reason to do both of those things, but she didn't. She was still here with her. Annie's spiel went a long way to mending Silver's shattered heart and her battered pride and spirit. Silver smiled so happily and her eyes shone bright with unshed tears. Silver reached over and hugged Annie close. She didn't need to say anything, words weren't necessary in the moment.

Kelly stepped away from the doorway so the girls wouldn't spot her and end the tender moment. She had witnessed nearly the entire exchange from the hall after she placed their dinner order. Kelly was choked up - she guessed correctly that Annie's words had a major impact on Silver. Kelly stepped back into the doorway in time to see them pull apart and link arms, then Silver rest her head on Annie's shoulder. Kelly couldn't help it, and she quickly pulled out her phone and took another picture. Silver heard a noise in the hall and furrowed her brow. "Kelly?" she called out. Kelly waited a moment before she entered the room.

"Done! It'll be ready to be picked up in 20 minutes," she replied. "Sammy and I will go pick it up soon."

Annie looked at Kelly. "Thanks for having me over, Kelly," she said.

Kelly smiled warmly at the girl. "It's **our** pleasure," Kelly replied, putting emphasis on the word 'our'. "Would you girls mind setting the table for me?"

"Sure," Silver said as she and Annie stood to their feet.

Sammy came running into the room. "Hi!" he said brightly. He attached himself to Silver's leg. "What are we doing?" he asked.

Silver bent down and picked up her nephew. "We…" she said slowly. "Are tickling you!" she cried, gently throwing Sammy on her bed and tickling him mercilessly. Annie dove next to him on the bed and joined in, causing Sammy to shriek with laughter. Eventually the girls decided Sammy had enough and stopped tickling him. Sammy caught his breath and looked at Kelly and exclaimed "Mommy, I like Aunty Erin living here, she's so much fun!" Silver grinned and put her arm around Sammy. There was nothing like the unconditional love of a child.

Kelly walked forward and ruffled her son's hair. "I like Aunty Erin living here too, Sammy," she said, directing it more at Silver than Sammy. Kelly winked at Silver and held out her hand to Sammy. "C'mon, kiddo. We're going to go get dinner," she said.

"Cool, takeout! What are we having?" Sammy asked excitedly.

"Chinese," Kelly answered squatting down in front of her son.

"Oh boy!" he said happily looking at Annie and Silver. "Chinese is my favourite!" he told them.

Silver pretended to gasp. "Really? It's one of my favourites, too!" she countered.

Sammy's jaw dropped. "Awesome!"

Kelly laughed and grabbed Sammy's hand. "Alright Sammy, time to go! We have to give the girls time to set the table," Kelly reminded them with a wave.

Sammy turned and looked back over his shoulder. "Byeeeee!"

"Bye!" Annie and Silver echoed him as he and Kelly left.

Silver flopped back onto the bed briefly before pulling herself upright. "Okay," she sighed. "Let's go set the table."

Annie agreed, jumped up and followed Silver to the kitchen.


	14. Chapter 14

They talked as they organised the table settings.

"So, I know a woman's age is sacred and all, but how old is Kelly?" Annie asked curiously.

Silver laughed. "She's 32, our Mom had me when Kelly was 16," Silver explained.

Annie nodded. "Did you spend a lot of time with her growing up?"

"Not a whole lot that I remember when I was very young, because Kelly was busy with College. After she got set up here and everything, I spent the night all time from when I was like 9 or 10. Then one day, just after my Mom and Dad split up, Mom and Kelly had a massive fight and Mom wouldn't let me come over anymore. I was barely able to talk to Kelly until I got to high school, and that was only because she worked there. I was only really able to contact Kelly by texting her for a couple of years," Silver said reflectively.

"What did your Mom and Kelly fight about?" Annie asked.

Silver paused. "You know, I have no idea," she realised. "I'll ask her later," she decided as she heard the front door open. She and Annie heard Sammy loud and clear.

"Come and greet me with hugs and kisses if you love me!" he yelled like his Mom does.

Silver put down the glass she was holding and ran through the lounge room to meet Sammy at the door. She scooped him up and spun him around, laughing. Annie followed her and helped Kelly bring in the food.

"Where are the other 6 people it's going to take to eat all this?" Annie exclaimed.

Silver laughed as she put Sammy down. "We are big leftover people, aren't we Kel?"

"Oh yeah," Kelly agreed. "Half the time it tastes better the second or third day," she said. "You girls can take the leftovers to school tomorrow," Kelly offered.

Silver winced as she poked through the containers. "We're going to school tomorrow?" she asked pitifully.

Kelly frowned as she considered Silver's request. "It's not as if Annie can skip… Her Dad's the Principal – he's going to notice. After dinner, I'll call Harry and ask if he minds if Annie misses a day," Kelly compromised. "But I'm not promising anything."

Silver grinned. She knew Kelly could talk Harry into it. "Thanks," she said.

"Mmm, that was good," Annie said contentedly.

"We're not done, yet!" Sammy called from across the table.

"What else do we have to eat besides the tablecloth?" joked Annie.

"Fortune cookies!" squealed Sammy reaching for the container.

"Fortune cookies? Cool!" echoed Silver.

The container got passed around the table and everyone picked a fortune cookie. Silver broke hers open and a small smile crept across her face as she read the fortune it held. It read 'Your life has been a tumultuous rollercoaster thus far, but it is about to become a much more enjoyable ride. Embrace change and new relationships.'

Kelly's voice snapped Silver to attention. "Hey girls, what would you say about giving Sammy a bath for me?" she asked.

"Sammy, would you like us to give you your bath tonight?" Silver asked her nephew.

"Uh-huh!" Sammy said bouncing in his chair.

"Alright, come on then!" Silver held out her hand for the boy to hold. He ran to her and clutched her hand but refused to be led away. He turned to Annie who was on his other side and held his other hand out to her. Annie giggled and grabbed his hand and they headed to the bathroom.

After the girls had taken Sammy to give him a bath, Kelly picked up the phone and carefully dialled Annie's phone number. After three rings, somebody picked up.

"Hello?" asked the voice on the other end.

"Hi, this is Kelly Taylor, I was after Harry if he's there at all," Kelly said.

"Sure, hold on a sec… Dad, Dad! Phone's for you," the voice came through muffled.

Moments later, Harry's voice came on the line. "Hello?" he asked.

"Hey Harry, its Kelly," she replied.

Harry's demeanour immediately softened. "Kel, how are you? How are the girls?" he asked after everyone quickly.

"They're fine, we just had dinner. Listen, I've decided to keep Silver home from school tomorrow, and as soon as I agreed to that I got two pairs of pleading eyes wanting Annie to have the day off too," Kelly explained. "I told them no promises, but that I'd check with you," she added quickly.

Harry furrowed his brow and looked at his wife. "Let me talk to Debbie and give you a call back, Kel," he replied.

"Sure, talk to you later then, Harry," Kelly said.

"Yup, bye," Harry said as he hung up.

Harry walked over to his wife and put the cordless phone back on the charger.

"That was Kelly," he said as he sank back down into the couch.

Debbie instantly sat up straighter. "Is everything okay?"

Harry quickly nodded to set his wife's mind at ease. She was so upset when Harry had filled her in on what happened to poor Silver.

"No, the girls are fine. Kelly's going to keep Silver home tomorrow so she can rest and get settled in there and apparently as soon as she told Silver she could stay home, Silver pointed out that it would be silly to go all the way to West Beverly just to drop off Annie only to come home again, which Annie agreed to, surprise, surprise," Harry chuckled. "Evidently, Annie wants to have tomorrow off as well," he said.

Debbie smirked knowingly. She thought this might happen. "Well, I'm alright with it if you are," she said to her husband. "Missing one day won't do her much harm, and you can pick up both their homework so they don't fall behind. Plus I think it's a good enough reason," she concluded.

Harry nodded grimly. "Annie was pretty shaken up, I know they only just met but you know how Annie is, and I could tell that it broke her heart to see Silver in the state she was in," he said flashing back to the pained look on his daughter's face. "I'll call Kelly and let her know."

Debbie nodded and handed him the phone.

Harry dialled Kelly's phone number, and she answered after two rings.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Hey Kelly, its Harry. Annie can stay home with you and Silver tomorrow," he said with a smile.

"They'll be thrilled, thanks Harry. I think the girls will be good for each other," she said thoughtfully.

"So do I," Harry agreed.

"Oh and Harry, please apologise to Debbie for me. I got to thinking about her phone call earlier and I think I was incredibly rude," Kelly said.

"Kelly, Debbie wouldn't have thought that I'm sure, but she's right next to me, you can tell her yourself," he added, handing the phone to his wife who took it with an amused expression.

"Hello, Kelly?" Debbie asked.

"Debbie, hi," Kelly began. "I was thinking about our conversation earlier and I think I came across terribly rude and short, so I wanted to apologise."

'Kelly, don't be ridiculous," Debbie scoffed. "If I'd been on the receiving end of that phone call, I'd have hung up as soon as you'd said the word hospital! Really, its fine," she reassured Kelly.

"Thanks Debbie," Kelly replied sincerely.

"It's my pleasure," Debbie replied. "Oh, Harry will bring home Silver's homework so she doesn't fall behind. I'll leave it with you when I pick up Annie tomorrow," she said.

"That'd be great, please thank him for me," Kelly said.

"Will do, I'll call before I come around tomorrow to make sure Annie's ready," Debbie told Kelly.

"That's not necessary, Debbie. Anytime in the evening will be fine, and if the girls are busy we can have a coffee and chat," Kelly offered.

"Okay sure, that sounds great," confirmed Debbie. "I'll see you tomorrow evening."

"It's a plan. Goodnight, Debbie," Kelly replied.

"Goodnight Kelly," Debbie said before hanging up the phone.


	15. Chapter 15

Kelly cradled the phone again and went to find the girls and fill them in on the development. She walked into a comical scene in the bathroom. Silver and Annie were towelling off Sammy, but they were the ones who needed to dry off. Both of them were covered in bubbles and were dripping wet. Kelly looked at her son accusingly. "Sammy," she said warningly. "Didn't we agree that you wouldn't splash in the bath?" she asked.

Sammy looked at his Mother with a face so innocent that it would convince anyone that butter wouldn't melt in his mouth. "Sorry, Mommy," he said pouting.

Kelly couldn't help but smile. "I'll forgive you this time, only because it wasn't me who got drenched," she said with a laugh. "Go get your jammies on," she told Sammy, ruffling his hair as he ran past her.

Silver and Annie looked at each other and burst out laughing. "Sorry girls," she apologised as she shook her head, still laughing.

"It's fine, really. I guess he was overstimulated by us being here instead of it being just you and him," Annie concluded.

Kelly nodded. "He likes to show off to people, alright," she said rolling her eyes. "Take off your wet clothes, I'll put them in the dryer," Kelly offered. "Oh, and Annie, your parents are fine with you missing school tomorrow," she added as Annie and Silver began stripping off, all three women temporarily forgot about the extensive bruises covering Silver's torso. As Silver pulled her shirt over her head, she heard Kelly's sharp intake of breath and she remembered. She looked at Kelly who tried unsuccessfully to neutralise her face. She then looked over at Annie who had begun to tear up again. Silver quickly tore her jeans off, leaving her in her clad in just her bra and underwear before wrapping a towel around herself and running from the room.

"Shit," Kelly admonished herself, looking at the floor. Annie grabbed a towel and draped it around herself and hurried to Silver's room with Kelly right behind her.

Annie knocked on Silver's closed door. "Silver? Silver, I'm sorry… Can we come in?" Annie implored through the door. Hearing no reply, Kelly pressed her ear close to the door. She heard the sound of soft crying from inside. She was about to open the door when Sammy came running to them.

"Mommy! I got my jammies on!" he said triumphantly.

"Good boy," she said quickly. "Go put on The Wiggles sweetie, I've got to talk to Aunty Erin for a minute, but I'll be there soon, okay?"

"Yay, Wiggles!" he said running to the living room.

Kelly turned back to the door, gently opening it. She saw Silver sitting in the corner of her bed with her back against the wall, her knees to her chest and her head on her knees, quietly sobbing. "Sweetheart," Kelly said, choking up. She quickly made her way to Silver's bed and sat next to her and hugged her.

"Don't touch me!" screamed Silver. Kelly backed away instantly in shock.

"Silver, I –"

Silver interrupted Kelly. "I know. I saw your face, Kelly. You were disgusted looking at me, and you were both scared. I'm sorry!" she sobbed.

"Baby, you are not disgusting. I was disgusted at the thought that Mom could do that to you," explained Kelly. "My reaction had nothing to do with you, Erin, and everything to do with the monster that Mom has become. It's still a shock for me to see you like this, sweetheart," Kelly said beginning to cry.

Annie stepped forward. "You're right Silver. I was scared… I hadn't fully seen your bruises till just then and seeing them scared me, because it made me imagine what you had gone through," she said through tears. "And I'm so sorry, both for what you went through and for not being as strong as you are to be able to shield you from my fear for your sake," Annie finished.

Silver glanced uncertainly at both of them and looked at her hands, intertwined on top of her knees. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

Kelly gathered her sister up in her arms. "Shhh," she soothed her. "There's nothing to be sorry about," Kelly said.

"But I keep freaking you guys out and flying off the handle!" Silver cried.

Kelly went into counsellor mode. "Sweetheart, after what you've been through, it's understandable that you may have some trust issues to work on," she said gently. "So just start with us, with me and Annie. We aren't going anywhere, we aren't going to hurt you."

Kelly held her sister for a few more Moments before remembering she had to put Sammy to bed. She pulled back from the hug and moved off the bed. "I've got to put Sammy to bed, can I bring him in to say goodnight?" she asked Silver. Silver quickly wiped her face with the corner of the towel she was still cloaked in. She stood up and pulled it off, quickly slipping on a robe. Annie looked down and saw she too was still only wearing the towel she'd pulled around herself. Silver acknowledged this too, by throwing Annie her spare robe with a smile.

"Okay, bring him in," Silver said.

Kelly left to go get Sammy so he could say goodnight to the girls. Annie walked over to Silver and draped her arm around her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Silver," she whispered.

"It's okay," said Silver. Finally, she knew deep down in her heart that it was going to be okay.

Sammy came stomping into Silver's room, frowning. Silver knelt down quickly and looked at him, worriedly. "Sammy, what's wrong?"

Sammy glared at Kelly. "I don't want to go to bed," he pouted. "I want to stay up with you and Annie," he said snuggling against Silver.

"Awww!" cooed Silver. "Sammy, that's so sweet, but you need to get some sleep otherwise you'll be too tired to do anything with Annie and me tomorrow," she reminded him.

"You'll be at school tomorrow!" Sammy exclaimed.

"No we won't, were not going to school tomorrow," replied Silver.

Sammy narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Really?" he asked.

"Really," promised Silver.

Sammy looked at Kelly who nodded. Sammy sighed. "Ooo-kaaay," he drawled. "I'll go to bed. Goodnight Aunty Erin. Love you," he said throwing his arms around Silver's neck.

"Goodnight, Monkey," Silver said affectionately.

Sammy let go and moved over to Annie who sat down to be at his level. "Goodnight, Annie," he said hugging her.

Annie squeezed the boy in return. "Goodnight, Sammy!" she said smiling at him.

"Come on, Sammy. Let's go tuck you in," Kelly said holding out her hand to her son, who let himself be led out of Silver's room.

Silver moved over to the bed and sat with her back against the headboard, looking thoughtful. Annie sat next to her. "What's going through that head of yours?" she asked as she got comfortable on the bed.

"I was just wondering," Silver said. "About what was going to happen to my Mom."

Annie looked at her sadly. "I don't know," she replied. "Maybe Kelly knows something," she offered.

"Maybe Kelly knows something about what?" Kelly said as she entered the room after putting Sammy to bed.

Silver look at her sister and paused before answering. "About what's going to happen to Mom."

Kelly immediately softened and made her way to the bed and sat in front of her sister, watching her face carefully. "Well I can tell you she'll be getting charged with possession of both drugs and drug paraphernalia. She'll also get some sort of assault and child abuse charges," Kelly broke to Silver gently.

Silver paled instantly. "But, she won't go to jail, will she?" she begged for reassurance. "It's her first offence!"

Kelly captured Silver's hands in hers. "It's not her first offence," Kelly confessed.

Silver's eyes bore into Kelly's face. "What?"

Kelly pushed her hair from her face and sighed. She knew she'd have to have this conversation with Silver eventually but it sucked that it had to be now with all the other crap Silver had to deal with already. "Right after your Dad left Mom, I went to see her one day while you were at school, I had no idea what I was about to walk in on," Kelly set the scene pensively. "I walked into the house and found Mom on the couch, doing one line of coke after another. There was a half empty bottle of Tequila next to her on the couch. She was a mess, Silver," Kelly explained.

Silver anticipated there was worse to come. "What happened?" she asked quietly.

Kelly sighed and rolled her right sleeve up past her elbow revealing a fading scar from one side of her arm to the other that Silver hadn't noticed before. "Mom had a knife hidden in between the couch cushions. God only knows what she was going to do with it. She brought it out when I started yelling at her for using again. I don't know if she meant to cut me or if it was just her drunken unco-ordination, but in any event, she nearly stabbed Sammy who I was holding with this arm, and she cut me deep. She severed one of the main arteries in my arm and I nearly bled out by the time I got to the hospital," Kelly said, looking away as the memory flooded back to her. "She got charged with bodily harm, possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia, but she only got probation and a steep fine," Kelly finished.

Silver's mouth hung open in shock. "When did this happen? Where was I?" she demanded.

"Think back, there was a day in 8th grade when I left a message at school for you to go home from school with Hannah, and you stayed there for a few days?" Kelly reminded Silver.

Silver looked betrayed. "You, you told me Mom was in the hospital. You said she had food poisoning!" she said accusingly. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You were thirteen! Your parents were divorcing and I thought you had more than enough to deal with already without me adding to it with this!" Kelly exclaimed.

Silver exhaled loudly, she was still angry but she understood why Kelly didn't tell her. "Okay, so you didn't tell me when it happened. Fair enough. What, you decided to wait two and a half years for dramatic effect?" she cried.

"I didn't want to turn you against Mom! Because that **was** her first offence, and you still had to live with her. I tried to get custody of you then, but with Sammy being so young, the courts thought it'd be too much for me to handle," she explained.

Something clicked in Silver's mind. "That was what you guys fought about," she realised.

"What?" Kelly asked.

"When Mom stopped letting me see you when I was thirteen, that was what you fought about," Silver said. "You tried to get me out of there so she cut me off from you,' she said angrily.

Nothing much got past Silver, she was a smart girl. "That's right," Kelly agreed.

Silver paused thoughtfully. "Thank you for trying to help me," she said to Kelly.

Kelly smiled. "Anytime, that's what sister's are for!" she replied, rubbing Silver's arms lovingly. Kelly decided to put an end to the sombre mood. "Come on… Sammy's in bed. Let's have a DVD night," urged Kelly.

Silver raised an eyebrow before and asked before agreeing. "What movies?"

"Any you and Annie want, you girls choose," Kelly conceded.

Silver looked at Annie who grinned. "We're in," she answered for them. She turned back to Annie. "Go through my DVD's and pick out any you like, I'll look at Kelly's and see if there's any hope for her," Silver teased.

"Hey!" protested Kelly. "What's wrong with my movies?"

"They're either sappy romance movies or clichés, but there may be some talent in there. Like I said, let me dig through them and see what I find," Silver compromised as Annie laughed and headed to Silver's DVD stacker.

Armed with a large pile of DVD's, Kelly, Annie and Silver made their way to the couch and decided to begin their DVD night with a horror movie, 'The Hills Have Eyes'. Silver sat in the middle of the couch and leaned her head on Kelly's shoulder and Annie on the other side of Silver linked her arm through Silver's and prepared to hold her hand during the scary scenes.


	16. Chapter 16

Silver stumbled into the kitchen rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Kelly looked up and smiled. "Good morning, sunshine!"

Silver stopped and looked at Kelly like she'd sprouted a second head. "I forgot how perky things are around here in the morning," she groaned.

Sammy jumped from his seat at the table. "Morning, Aunty Erin!" he cried throwing his arms around her legs. Silver finally cracked a smile and ruffled Sammy's hair. "Morning, monkey," she replied. Silver glared suspiciously at Kelly over Sammy's head. "Just how are you so perky after pouring yourself into bed at 5 to 5 this morning?" she asked suspiciously.

"Mommy juice," Kelly replied slyly as she picked up an empty can of Red Bull.

Silver groaned when she saw it was empty. "Not fair," she mumbled.

Kelly laughed. "There are more in the fridge if you or Annie want one," Kelly offered.

"Oh, I love you," Silver moaned as she let herself into the fridge. "Annie, you want some Red Bull?" she called loudly.

"Silver, just because you're awake doesn't mean she has to be," admonished Kelly.

Silver looked at Kelly as she cracked open her can and took a sip. "Annie's up, she just didn't make it very far," she said as Annie walked into the kitchen.

"I heard talk of Red Bull and decided it was a good enough reason to finish the journey from the couch," she said with a yawn as she entered.

Kelly shook her head at the girls. "You two better harden up! If you're anything like me, you have plenty more all nighters coming your way in the next few years," she quipped.

Annie and Silver laughed. "Morning Kelly," she said as she sat next to Sammy at the table.

"Morning Annie," Kelly replied.

Sammy cleared his throat loudly, indignant at being ignored. Annie laughed again. "And a very good morning to you, Sammy," she said to the child.

"Good morning, Annie!" he replied happily.

Silver sat down next to Annie and set down a can of Red Bull in front of Annie.

"Ahh, thank you!" Annie exclaimed gratefully, opening her can and gulping down a couple of mouthfuls.

"So Kel, what are we going to do today?" Silver asked as she slowly woke up.

"Well, I don't know what we'll get up to this morning, but this afternoon we have to go to the police station," she said gently.

Silver closed her eyes momentarily as she replied. "Do we have to?"

"I'm afraid so, sweetie. Annie, your Dad will be there too. You both have to make statements about... What you found," Kelly trailed off uncomfortably.

Silver was beginning to get distressed. "Kelly, anything I say is going to make things worse for Mom! I don't want to go," pleaded Silver. "I don't want her to hate me," she whispered as she looked down and her hair fell in her face.

Kelly paused before she answered and looked at her son. He really didn't need to know any of this, not that he would understand much of it at his age, but she wanted to shelter him from as much of it as she could.

"Hey Sammy, why don't you show Aunty Erin and Annie how clever you are and put your clothes on by yourself?" Kelly said to her son.

"Okay, Mommy!" he replied excitedly.

"Don't forget to brush your teeth and wash your face, Sammy," she reminded him as he ran out of the kitchen. Kelly turned her attention back to Silver. She put her hands on top of her sisters.

"Silver, I want you to listen to me," she said firmly. "None of this is your fault, okay?" None of it," she began. "The woman you've been living with since your Dad left isn't our Mom… That is cocaine and alcohol. That doesn't excuse her or condone her behaviour, but the monster that did this to you needs help. It's the first step to getting Mom back," she told her. "Talking to the police is the way to make sure she gets the help she needs, honey. They can force her to follow through, whatever happens and wherever she ends up."

Silver finally looked up, her beautiful blue eyes filling with tears, "But what if I have to go back there, Kelly? She'll hate me even more!" she exclaimed.

Kelly now realised that Silver's reluctance to talk to the police stemmed from fear. "Silver, I have custody of you. No matter what happens with Mom, or your Dad for that matter, you're mine until you're 18. You can't get rid of me that easily," she joked, rewarded with a small smile on Silver's face.

"Are you sure?" she checked.

"Positive. You can ask the officer while we are there, if you like, and he can go over the restraining order with you," Kelly reassured her.

"Wait… Restraining order?" Silver faltered.

Kelly nodded. "Because of the extent of your injuries, the court decided it was in your best interests for Mom not to be able see you until you feel ready," Kelly explained.

Silver nodded slowly. At first she was shocked at the thought of having a restraining order against her own mother, but as she thought about it, she realised it was probably a good idea.

Just as Kelly opened her mouth to continue, Sammy came running back into the kitchen.

"I did it, Mommy!" he said proudly.

"You sure did, sweetheart," she replied as she stifled a chuckle. Sammy had his shirt on back to front.

Silver and Annie looked at him and giggled.

"Come here, Squirt," Silver said to Sammy. When he was in front of her, she placed her hands on his shoulders. "You look awesome Sammy, but can I make one suggestion?" she asked him.

"Okay," replied Sammy.

With that, Silver took off Sammy's shirt and put it on the right way. Sammy looked down at his clothes with his mouth wide with awe.

"Wow that looks so cool! Do you see, Mommy?" he asked as he turned to Kelly.

"I do! It's the perfect finishing touch," she said.

Sammy turned back to Silver. "You're so smart, Aunty Erin! Mommy would've never thought to do that!"

Silver ruffled her nephew's hair and avoided the glare his mother was shooting her. "Thank you Sammy, why don't you go play?" Silver suggested.

"Yeah!" Sammy cheered as he fled the room again.

Silver finally met Kelly's stare. "What?" she exclaimed, laughing. "Kids say the darndest things!" she quoted.

Kelly laughed and shook her head. "You don't know the half of it," she said frankly.

"Tell us! What other suss stuff does he say?" Silver asked eagerly.

Kelly laughed loudly. "Ha! Sammy? He doesn't say too much suss or inappropriate things. I was talking about you!" she emphasised.

"Me?" Silver squawked.

"Yes, you," Kelly repeated giggling.

"What are you talking about?" scoffed Silver.

"Oh, you, you were terrible!" Kelly exclaimed. "Like when you were about 6, I took you shopping and we walked past a couple making out… You ran away from me and started pummelling this guy, screaming at him to stop trying to smother the girl. I've never been so embarrassed in my life!" Kelly finished giggling uncontrollably.

Silver looked horrified. "I don't remember doing that!" she protested.

"Well like I said, you were only 5 or 6. I don't remember much of what I did when I was that age," Kelly offered.

"True. Moving right along…" Silver said laughing.

"Alright," Kelly agreed. "Back to the original question, what should we do this morning?"

Silver looked at Annie. "Any suggestions?"

Annie looked thoughtful as she wracked her brain. "Definitely something fun, I think we could all use a little."

Silver nodded assertively. "Good start… Okay what's fun to do in California that's not the beach?" she continued.

Kelly looked confused. "Not the beach? Why – oh." Kelly remembered why she wouldn't want to go to the beach. She had momentarily forgotten about the deep purple bruises all over her sister.

"Okay… We could go to a movie, we could go shopping –." Annie was interrupted by Kelly and Silver.

"Shopping!" they said in unison, making them laugh.

"And what's fabulous is, both our bank accounts are nice and full this morning," Kelly told Silver.

Silver looked perplexed. "Why is that?" she asked.

"The first of Mom and your Dad's payments went in last night," Kelly explained.

"What payments?" Silver was still confused.

"I mustn't have told you, I'm sorry. The courts decided to make both Mom and Mel give you an allowance of sorts of $750 a week each to cover your expenses and so we can get you anything you need. Plus, they have to pay me $500 a week each. I don't know exactly why that is, probably some sort of punishment for being such miserable human beings in the first place," she said contemplatively.

"Oh, cool! The only thing better than shopping is someone else footing the bill for your shopping!" Silver said excitedly. She grabbed Annie's hand. "Let's go get ready."

"You'll have to lend me some clothes," Annie said as they hurried back to Silver's room.

Silver turned and carefully looked at Annie. "You're about my size, you should fit any of my clothes. Pick anything you want," Silver offered.

"Thanks!" Annie said as she began to rummage through Silver's closet. She pulled out a pair of skinny leg jeans, singlet and a black denim vest. Silver nodded appreciatively.

"Nice," she commented. She chose a short grey dress, purple knee high socks and a purple bandana for herself. She quickly ran a brush through her hair and set the bandana into place. Annie stood next to her in the mirror and frowned at her hair.

"What am I going to do to this birds nest?" she asked thoughtfully.

"Sit down, I'll braid it," Silver offered.

Annie sat on the floor with her back against the bed with Silver perched behind her on the bed and skilfully pulled Annie's hair into three braids on the top of her head to her crown, leaving the rest of her hair flowing loose.

"All done!" Silver said with a smile. Annie stood up and went to the mirror to check her handiwork.

"Wow! That's awesome Silver!" she exclaimed as she turned to look at her friend.

Silver shrugged with a smile. "I do what I can," she replied modestly. There was a knock on the door. Silver looked over and said "come in."

Kelly opened the door and leaned against the door frame. "Very nice, Annie!" she said as Annie twirled to show off her outfit. "Are we nearly ready to go?"

Silver nodded. "Where should we start, Melrose?"

"Sure, it's as good a place as any," Kelly agreed.

Annie squealed, causing both Kelly and Silver to shoot her looks. "Sorry," Annie said laughing. "This is my first shopping experience in Los Angeles and I'm excited!"

"As well you should be," Silver replied. "Especially shopping with Kelly and I, those stores don't stand a chance." She turned to Kelly. "This is a big responsibility, Kel. We have to initiate her into the fashion world of Beverly Hills properly."

"Oh, yes, I'm well aware. And I have quite a bit of experience at this task… Who do you think helped Brenda become the style icon she was after she moved here?" Kelly quipped.

"Yes, yes, I know," Silver smirked with a roll of her eyes.

Sammy ran into the room. "There you are! I didn't know where any of you were!" he exclaimed loudly.

"Yup, were right here," Kelly replied as she tweaked her son's nose.

"What are we doing today, Mommy?" he asked.

"Well, this morning we are going shopping!" Kelly replied animatedly.

"Shopping?" groaned Sammy.

"Not grocery shopping, don't worry Sammy. We're going shopping for fun things today!" she assured her son.

"What kind of fun things?" Sammy asked as a grin lit up his face.

"Clothes, shoes, accessories…" Kelly teased her son as his face dropped. "A toy store or two…"

Sammy's face lit up and he jumped up and down. "The toy store? Oh boy!" he exclaimed.

Kelly laughed at her son and hugged him. "C'mon kiddo, let's leave the girls to finish getting ready. Come on out when you're done and we'll get outta here. So many stores, so little time!" reminded Kelly as she and Sammy left the room. She poked her head back in. "Silver, we'll be going straight from shopping to the police station, so you'll need to bring the –"

"Got it, Kel," Silver interrupted her. "I'll leave it in the boot while we shop."

"Okay sweetie," she replied, lingering in the room for a moment to look at her sister. She had been through so much, and this afternoon was going to be very difficult for her.

Annie snuck a sideways glance at Silver as she reached underneath her bed and pulled out the box containing the photos. She put it on her lap and rested her shaking hands on top of it. She looked up and noticed Annie's attention was on her. She forced a smile and gripped her hands in each other to stop them shaking.

"C'mon Annie, let's do some damage," she said getting up and tucking the box under her arm.

"Let's," Annie agreed with a smile. They met Kelly and Sammy in the living room.

"All ready to go, girls?" Kelly asked them.

"Sure are!" said Silver brightly as they left the house, making sure to lock the front door behind them.

Silver was the first to reach the car and quickly stashed away her box in the boot before Sammy noticed it and asked about its' contents. Shutting the boot, she turned and leaned against it and sighed. She dropped her head and felt tears prickling behind her eyes. *No, you are not going to cry. Not now. You're going to spend the day with your sister and friend and it's going to be fun. Time enough to cry later,* she told herself as she shook it off, lifted her head and smiled at Kelly who was now approaching the car with Annie and Sammy in tow.

"Guess what, Sammy? You get to ride shotgun today!" Silver said excitedly.

"Oh boy!" Sammy exclaimed before suddenly looking confused. "What's that?"

The three women laughed. "That means, you get to ride up front next to Mommy today," Silver explained as she squatted down to his level.

"Oh boy!" Sammy repeated, even louder this time. Kelly moved Sammy's car-seat into the front so the girls could sit together in the back.

"Everyone ready?" Kelly asked as she put the key into the ignition.

"Yup!" Sammy answered for the girls who laughed.

"Then without further ado, let's go spend some money. Annie, brace yourself," Kelly said ominously with a glint in her eye.


	17. Chapter 17

Annie couldn't wait, she was about to go shopping for the first time in Beverly Hills. And it was with two people who knew the best places to shop, not her poor clueless Mom. Well her Mom wasn't that bad, but she was Kansas savvy, not Beverly Hills. So, once Annie learned the ropes from Kelly and Silver, she could pass her knowledge onto her Mother.

Before Annie knew it, they had pulled to a stop in a car park on the side of a street.

"Here we are, Annie. Rodeo Drive," Kelly said grandly as they stepped out of the car.

"The shopping Mecca in Los Angeles… Well at least in Beverly Hills," Silver compromised.

"Wow," was all Annie could say as she looked around her.

Silver smiled at her friends' reaction. She linked her arm through Annie's and Kelly picked up Sammy. "C'mon, let's get started!" she said happily as they walked into Barney's, the first store on the strip.

"No, Silver, it's way too much… I couldn't let you," Annie tried to reason with Silver. They were in a store called Katz and there were gorgeous clothes everywhere. Annie had already spent nearly all of her allowance on a dress, jacket and a pair of shoes. But in Katz, Silver had forced her to try on an outfit she'd picked for her – a pair of black skinnys, a red and blue off the shoulder top, a black leather vest and a pair of black boots. Annie looked in the mirror and couldn't deny that it was gorgeous, but it would all cost about $400. Silver was insisting on getting the outfit for her, but Annie thought it was far too much.

Silver sighed, refusing to give up the fight. She pulled out her credit card out of her wallet.

"Did we forget about my little friend?" Silver said sneakily. "I've still got Mom's credit card."

Annie grinned. "Well, in that case… Are you sure?" she checked.

"Positive," Silver said.

Kelly came out of the dressing room to admire her outfit. "Mmm, I like," she commented. She saw Annie in the reflection standing behind her and turned to take her in. "Annie, you look awesome!"

"Doesn't she? I do great work, if I do say so myself," Silver patted herself on the back. "Now Kelly, tell Annie to let me buy it for her."

Kelly shrugged. "Annie, I don't think you're going to win this one," she began.

Silver held up her Mom's credit card. "Especially since it's courtesy of Mom and the great people at American Express," she said grinning.

Kelly raised her eyebrows and nodded, looking down at the outfit she had on. "Yeah, Annie you are definitely not winning. I think Mom can buy me a new outfit or two, don't you, Silver?"

"Oh, absolutely," Silver agreed with a laugh.

With that decided, both Annie and Kelly went back into their dressing rooms to get changed back into their street clothes. Silver went to the cash register and the clerk began to ring up her purchases. Kelly and Annie both came out and added their clothes to the bill.

"Thanks for nothing, Mom," Silver quipped as she swiped the credit card. The women thanked the clerk as they picked up their bags and headed back out to the street.

Kelly looked at her watch. "Wow, it's getting kinda late. We should get some lunch and go to our appointment," she pointed out.

"Sure," Silver said quietly.

Annie intervened quickly. "What should we have for lunch?"

"I don't know, I'm feeling like Italian, what do you guys think?" Kelly answered intelligently, knowing Silver's love of Italian food.

It worked. A smile crept across Silver's face. "So, to Michael's?" she suggested. Michael's was the best Italian restaurant in that part of town.

Kelly grabbed Sammy's hand and put her other arm around Silver's shoulders. "You got it," she answered.

Annie smiled at the scene in front of her. "Alright natives, which way?"

Silver held out her other arm and pulled Annie close to her other side.

*********

"Oh man, that was good," Annie said appreciatively.

"Yeah it was," Silver agreed.

Kelly paid the check and they left the restaurant.

"Where are we going now, Mommy?" Sammy asked.

Kelly thought about how to best put this to her son so he wouldn't be scared or worried.

"We're going to see some friends, Sammy," she told him.

"Who, Mommy?" he countered.

"We're going to see some police officers. Police officers are our friends aren't they?" she said as they walked to the car.

"Yes, they help us when we need it," Sammy replied.

"That's right, Sammy," praised Kelly.

"Who needs help, Mommy?" he asked.

"What do you mean, Sammy?" Kelly asked.

"You go to police officers when you need help, so who needs help?" Sammy followed up.

Kelly closed her eyes momentarily. Just as she opened her mouth to respond, Silver interrupted.

"I do, Sammy," she said.

"Aunty Erin, what's wrong?" he asked in concern.

"I just have to talk to them, Sammy, they just need to know that I'm living with you and Mommy now," she explained.

"Oh, that's okay," Sammy replied, finally satisfied with the answer.

Kelly looked at her sister and was full of admiration. Not only was she dealing with the ramifications of everything she'd been through, but she was worried about Sammy and tried to set his mind at ease and keep the gory details from him. Kelly couldn't have been more proud of her sister. By now they had reached the car again. "Alright, everyone in the car," she announced, clearing away the lump that had formed in her throat.

"Click, clack, front and back," Kelly and Sammy sang in unison. With that, Kelly started the car and pulled it into a U-Turn, heading to the police station.


	18. Chapter 18

Annie could see Silver visibly tensing as they neared the police station. When they pulled into the car park, Annie saw her Dad leaning against his car, waiting for them. Kelly pulled to a stop next to Harry's car and let herself out. Harry smiled as his daughter got out of the car and came over to him.

"Hey, Princess," he said embracing his daughter.

"Hi Daddy," Annie said as she snuggled into her father's arms.

Harry looked over the top of Annie's head and saw Silver standing near the back of Kelly's car. He smiled at her and called out to get her attention. "Hey, kiddo."

Silver looked up and smiled at Harry. She ambled over to where he stood next to Annie. He let go of his daughter and gently pulled Silver to him, being mindful of the bruises he remembered covered her torso.

"Hey Harry," she replied tensely.

Harry pulled back to arms length and kept his hands on her shoulders, looking her squarely in the eyes.

"How are you doing, Silver?" he asked seriously. "Did you sleep well last night?

Silver laughed. "We didn't do a lot of sleeping, we were up until after 5 this morning watching DVD's," explained Silver.

"Nice," Harry commented. It was then he spotted Sammy clinging to Kelly's hand. He knelt down and waved to him. "Hi there, you must be Sammy," he said.

Sammy's mouth dropped open. "Mommy, he knows my name," he whispered loudly.

The girls giggled quietly. Kelly nodded at her son. "He does, he is a friend of Mommy's from when she was Aunty Erin's age. He's also Annie's Daddy," she informed him.

"Oh," he replied. "Hi Annie's Daddy," he said to Harry.

Harry struggled to keep a straight face. "Harry, please, call me Harry."

"Hi Harry," Sammy corrected himself.

"Hi," Harry replied with a smile. He stood up and greeted Kelly. "Hey, Kel," he said giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Hi Harry," Kelly replied warmly. "We should go in," she pointed out.

"Of course," he agreed.

Silver retrieved her box from the boot of the car while the others waited for her. Kelly and Sammy led the way into the police station followed by Silver and Annie who were dragging their feet conspicuously. Harry brought up the rear as they filed into the station.

An officer acknowledged their presence at the counter. "Can I help you?"

Kelly spoke up. "Yes, Officer Jackson," Kelly read the badge he wore. "We have an appointment with Sergeant Michaels."

"Sure, who can I let him know is here?" he followed.

"Kelly Taylor, he knows what it is regarding," Kelly answered pertinently so as to cut off any more questions.

He nodded and left in search of Sergeant Michaels. Soon, Officer Jackson returned with another police officer in tow.

"Kelly," he greeted her with a hug over the counter.

"Hey Sergeant Michaels," she replied, muffled by the officer's shoulder. Sergeant Michaels had been the cop on her case when Jackie sliced her arm open those years ago, and he knew Jackie's history.

Before they pulled apart, he whispered in Kelly's ear. "God, I'm sorry Kel." He knew how hard this must be for her, coming face to face with what her baby sister had endured at the hands of their own mother.

"Thank you," she murmured before pulling away. "Sergeant Michaels, I'm sure you remember my sister, Erin," Kelly said motioning to Silver.

Silver flashed a small smile. "Hi, Sergeant," she said in a small voice.

"Well hello young lady… Last time I saw you, you hadn't even hit waist height. Now look at you," he commented. 'Where does the time go?" he asked, looking at Harry.

"Sergeant, this is Harry Wilson, the new Principal of West Beverly. He and his daughter, Annie," she said drawing his attention to Annie. "Found Erin," she finished quickly.

Harry extended his hand in greeting. Sergeant Michaels shook it warmly. "Good to meet you, Harry," Sergeant Michaels said.

"You too, Sergeant," Harry responded.

"Annie, nice to meet you darlin'," he said addressing Annie.

"Hi, you too, Sir," she replied.

"So, I'm going to need to talk to you Erin and Kelly, one of my colleagues will talk to you and your Dad, Annie," Sergeant Michaels told them. "And Sammy can hang out with Officer Jackson and play in one of our squad cars!"

Silver instantly gripped onto Annie's hand. She didn't want to be separated from Annie during this.

Kelly saw Silver's reluctance and decided to speak up. "Sergeant Michaels, I know I personally would feel more comfortable if you did all the interviews yourself, and I think Erin would as well," Kelly said motioning towards Silver with her eyes. Sergeant Michaels also saw the uncertainty in the girls face and sighed.

"Okay, first I'll talk with Annie and Harry then you and Erin can join us, does that work for everyone?" he checked.

"Yes, totally works," Silver answered quickly.

"Okay, let's get started. Annie, Harry – right this way," he directed them into an empty interrogation room.

Annie squeezed Silver's hand. "See you in a bit," Annie told her with a small smile.

"Yup, cya," Silver replied as she released Annie's hand.

As the door to the interrogation room closed behind Annie and Harry, Officer

Jackson walked up to Kelly and Sammy and took him by the hand. "Come on little guy, do you want to check out my police car?" he asked.

"Can I, Mommy?" he asked obediently.

"Of course, sweetie. Be good for Officer Jackson!" she told him.

"I will Mommy," he answered as he followed the officer out of the station.

Kelly watched her son until he was out of her eyesight then with a sigh, turned her attention to Silver.

"Are you doing okay, Silver?" Kelly asked in concern as her eyes searched Silver's.

"I guess," Silver looked towards the floor, averting Kelly's gaze. "I'll just be happy when this is all over," she concluded.

Kelly pulled her sister into her arms. "Me too, honey. Me too."


	19. Chapter 19

Meanwhile inside the interrogation room, Sergeant Michaels was beginning to question Harry and Annie about the events of the previous afternoon.

"Now, I've seen the photos that the hospital took, and that you took on your cell phone. Very good thinking, Annie,' he commended her.

"Thank you, Sir," Annie replied.

"And the feature on your phone that automatically records the last phone call, is a very good safety device. I wish more phones had it," he commented. "We've recorded the conversation from it, so you're welcome to have your cell back again," he added as he retrieved her phone from his breast pocket.

"Thank you," said Annie as she tucked it into her bag.

"Okay, so tell me everything that happened from the moment you called Erin," he prompted her.

Annie began repeating her version of events, pausing as her eyes welled up as she recounted the sounds of the bat hitting Silver and her resulting scream. Harry jumped in when Annie reached the part when he ran to Annie's room at hearing her screaming. He told the Sergeant about Annie handing him the phone and hearing the beating and Silver begging for her Mom to stop. He spoke about how they had Debbie ring Kelly and the police while they rushed to Silver's house. Harry described the how they found her in and the compromising position her Mother was in on the couch. Annie took over and said that was when the police arrived and they left for the hospital. She went on to talk about how they saw the bruising on her torso as they lifted her from the car and took her into the Emergency Room.

"And that's about it," Annie said exhaustedly. It was tiring to recall the facts of just the day before, probably because Annie wished she could forget about it. If she felt that way, she couldn't even begin to imagine how Silver felt.

"Alright then, I'll go get Erin and Kelly and maybe they can fill in a few blanks," he said as he stood up. "Excuse me a Moment," he said as he exited the room.

Kelly looked up as she saw Sergeant Michaels approaching her and Silver. "Kelly, Erin, I'm through talking with Harry and Annie and am ready to hear from you. I just wanted to check that you were still okay with them being present during your part of the interview," he asked them.

"Yes, absolutely. I'd like them to stay, please," Silver pleaded, hoping the Sergeant wouldn't make them leave.

"Alright, honey, whatever you want," he said as he put his arm around her shoulder reassuringly. "Although at some point this afternoon, you will have to show a female officer all the recent bruising and any lasting scars from previous attacks," he said seriously.

Silver's eyes dropped to the box still clutched tightly in her arms. "Okay," she agreed quietly. She would divulge the contents of the box in the interrogation room so she wouldn't have to explain them or herself more than once.

Sergeant Michaels turned and led them into the interrogation to join Annie and Harry.

Harry stood up and offered his chair to Silver as Sergeant Michaels pulled up another chair for Kelly. Annie shifted her chair to put herself right beside Silver and laid her hand on her arm for reassurance. Harry moved to stand behind Annie's seat and rested his hands on the back of her chair.

"So Erin, we have a fair bit to talk about, but if you want to take a break at all, you just say so, okay?" he said gently.

"Okay," Silver repeated.

"Why don't we start with the events of yesterday, Erin - what do you remember?" he asked.

Silver gulped. "Mom had been drunk every night for the past week. I dropped Annie and Dixon home and went straight home. I tried to sneak into the house so Mom wouldn't know I was there, but as I started up the stairs, my phone rang. It took me awhile to find it, so I guess Mom heard it and snuck up behind me, and she had a baseball bat. I've never seen such a look in anyone's eyes before. I screamed and dropped the phone… I tried to cover my head but she hit me, right in the temple," Silver relived the experience as her fingers involuntarily reached for her still swollen temple.

"What happened next?" Sergeant Michaels encouraged her.

"I fell, hard. Down three or four stairs into the foyer. She followed me and kept hitting me. I was screaming the whole time, and asking her to please stop. That's all I remember," she ended looking at the box in her hands.

"Good, good. You're doing real good, Erin. What about the day before yesterday? What happened then?" he questioned her.

Silver let out a shaky breath and shivered slightly. Annie who felt her shudder, squeezed and rubbed her arm affectionately.

"I had dinner at Annie's house, and when I got home, Mom was in the living room. She heard me come in and immediately screamed for me to come in. She realised that… I'd found her stash of cocaine and dumped it. How stupid could I be, to think she wouldn't notice?" Silver exclaimed more to herself than anyone else.

Kelly wrapped her arm around Silver's shoulders. "It was not stupid, sweetie, and nothing you did gives her the right to do what she did to you, okay? It's not your fault," she stated.

"Kelly's right, Erin. It's hard not to blame yourself, I know, but you did nothing wrong," he agreed. "What happened after you went into the living room?"

Silver looked past the Sergeant as she answered. "She accused me of dumping her coke, and I tried to deny it. But she knew it had to be me, and said that she was going to teach me a lesson about respecting her property. She'd been moving closer to me the whole time, and I had backed up against the wall. Next thing I knew, she had the fireplace poker in her hand and she was hitting me with it. I fell to the ground and curled into a ball, and this time I was able to protect my head. But she landed blows all over my ribs, hips and legs," she said quietly, still refusing to make eye contact with the police officer. "After about five minutes, she stopped. I stayed on the floor pretending to be unconscious until I heard her climb the stairs and slam her bedroom door."

"Alright honey, you're doing so great," he complimented her. "After we're through here, we're going to need you to show a female officer any bruises or scars you have," he explained.

Silver sighed deeply and again looked at the box on the table in front of her. "These might do better," she said as she pushed the box slightly towards the Sergeant.

The Sergeant searched Silver's face as he pulled the box closer to him. "What's this?" he asked.

He opened the lid and his face paled immediately. What the officer saw made him sick to his stomach. What must have been dozens, if not hundreds of Polaroid photos of various bruises and cuts all over Erin's body stared back at him. Each of them was dated and also contained the implement that was used to inflict the damage in the photo. As he slowly sifted through them, his eyes met Silver's in utter disbelief. He emptied the contents of the box onto the table and spread the photos out so he could see them. Annie scanned the pictures covering the table in horror and quickly turned her attention to Silver. Her eyes were closed and her face dropped in shame as a lone tear escaped her eyelids and slid down her cheek. Annie moved to hastily grasp Silver's hand in both of hers. Silver tried to swallow the lump in her throat and control more tears that threatened to fall. She gripped Annie's hand tightly in her own. Harry took in the sight in front of him and was absolutely stunned. He reached over and rubbed Silver's upper back in an attempt to sooth her, as she was clearly getting distressed.

Kelly knew that the photos existed but even prior knowledge hadn't properly prepared her for what she saw on the table. She sat frozen, unable to move even if she wanted to and was filled with such a rage she was unsure she could control herself.

After a few more moments, Sergeant Michaels cleared his throat. "These will go a long way to making sure your Mother never gets the chance to hurt you again, Erin. This was very smart," he commented Silver.

"Thanks," she replied quietly, her eyes still downcast.

"However, we will still need to see any evidence on your person at this time," he told her.

"I understand," she said finally lifting her gaze to meet the officers'. After holding it for a moment, he nodded kindly.

He pressed a button on the side of the table and spoke quietly into an intercom none of them had noticed until now. Almost immediately, a female officer entered the room. Silver turned her head slightly and peered at the woman.

"Hi Erin, my name is Officer Reid. If you and your sister wouldn't mind coming with me for a moment," she instructed them.

Kelly snapped out of her haze. "Of course," she replied as she stood to her feet, looking at her sister. Silver slowly stood up, reluctantly releasing Annie's hand.

Kelly put her hand on Silver's back as they followed the Officer into an adjacent, windowless room. As soon as the door shut behind them, Annie turned to her Dad finally permitting tears to collect in her eyes. "Dad-" she choked as she looked back to the photos which remained all over the table.

"I know, baby," he said as he smoothed back her hair. "All you can do now is be there for her," he advised her.

Annie sucked back her tears and nodded. She had to be strong now, for Silver.


	20. Chapter 20

Meanwhile in the next room, Officer Reid shut and locked the door. "Alright Erin, what do you have to show me?" she asked.

Silver glanced at Kelly for support and after a nod of encouragement reached for the hem of her dress and swiftly pulled it up over her head. She quickly looked at the officer and was surprised to see her face maintain a stoic expression apart from a slight wince. Silver realised that sadly, this probably isn't terribly shocking for her anymore. With a slight shake of her head, Officer Reid had her turn slowly, making sure to take photos of all of the bruises.

"Okay, you can put your dress back on," she said. "Now, are there any scars or lasting effects from your Mother's behaviour?"

Silver thought for a Moment and pulled off her right boot and sock, revealing a feint but visible scar on the top of her foot. Kelly moved in for a closer look and lifted her eyes to Silver's face in shock. "Silver, what is that from?"

Officer Reid got out a notebook and pen and awaited Silver's answer. Silver looked from Kelly to the officer and back. "Last year, Mom was going to some charity thing and wanted me to go with her. When I said that I already had plans, she stomped on my foot with her stiletto," she described.

Kelly looked at her foot then back at Silver's face, aghast at the suffering her sister had endured.

Officer Reid zoomed in on the scar and snapped a photo before meeting the girl's eyes and shaking her head sympathetically. "Okay Erin, you can go back to Sergeant Michaels now," she said opening the door to let them out. "You were very brave today," she pointed out as Silver walked past her.

Silver turned and flashed a quick and small smile at the officer. "Thanks," she answered.

With that, Officer Reid knocked on the door of the interview room before opening it for Silver and Kelly. As soon as she entered, Silver felt all eyes in the room on her. Annie smiled and patted the chair next to her. Silver smiled quickly and slid onto the seat as Kelly sat down on the other side of her.

"I think we're about done here, Erin, unless you have any questions?" Sergeant Michaels asked her.

Silver leaned forward and rested her arms on the desk. "Actually, I do," she began.

"Okay, shoot," he encouraged her.

"Um, what's going to happen to my Mom?" she asked quietly.

Sergeant Michaels exhaled loudly and clasped his hands together. "Well, I can't tell you much at the moment. She was released by us late last night but is set to appear in court tomorrow morning," he explained.

"Well, what has she been charged with? Surely you must have some kind of idea what's going to happen tomorrow," she exclaimed.

Sergeant Michaels shot a sideways glance at Kelly who nodded slightly. He sighed before responding. "Alright. Your Mom has been charged with two counts of child abuse, two counts of assault, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of in excess of five grams of cocaine as well as violation of probation conditions."

Silver's eyes frosted over with unshed tears. "Oh God," she murmured. "She's going to jail, isn't she?"

Sergeant Michaels looked at Kelly who already knew the answer. With the extent of those charges, she was going away and for a long time. Kelly's nod was barely visible this time. Sergeant Michaels reached across the table and put his hand on top of Silver's.

"Yes honey, she'll be spending time in prison," he broke to her.

Silver's face crumbled as she burst into tears. She turned to Annie who immediately embraced her and held her tightly as she cried. Kelly did her best to hold back her tears as she saw her baby sister broken hearted over the woman who beat her constantly going to jail. It shattered Kelly to see her usually so strong sister reduced to such a sad, lost little girl.

"It's going to be okay, Silver. Maybe it's what she needs," Annie tried to console her friend.

"How could it be okay? I'm sending my own Mother to jail!" Silver wailed.

Kelly moved around behind Annie so Silver could see her face. "Annie's right. She's had problems for a long time, long before you were born. None of this is your fault, baby girl," Kelly said as she brushed away some of the tears streaming down her sister's face.

"I'm hoping after all this time, finally spending some hard time in jail will make her wake up and face reality. And she will have to wake up, at least from her drug and alcohol induced stupor because there is no access to that crap where she'll be going," added Sergeant Michaels.

Silver pulled away and considered what was being said. "I suppose," she relented. "I still don't have to like it."

"No, no you don't, darlin'," Sergeant Michaels chuckled lightly.

Silver turned her tear-streaked face back towards Kelly. "Can we go home, please?"

Kelly glanced at Sergeant Michaels for an answer. He nodded. "Of course, sweetheart," Kelly answered as she stroked Silver's hair. They all got to their feet and exited the interview room. Sergeant Michaels patted Silver on the shoulder. "You were very brave today, Erin. Not many would be strong enough to do what you just did. You did good, real good," he told her.

Silver turned to look at the officer and smiled. "Thank you," she replied.

Harry shook the Sergeant's hand. "Thank you sir, it was good to meet you. Good luck at West Beverly, you're probably going to need it," he predicted with a laugh.

Harry raised his eyebrows and nodded. "Lord knows I do. I went to West Beverly back in the day, I know exactly what these kids have up their sleeves," he moaned.

"Annie dear, you're a very good friend for being here today," he told her. "You take care now."

Annie smiled at the older man. "Thank you, Sergeant. I will," Annie responded.

Kelly looked around the room, suddenly remembering Sammy was around somewhere. "Um, any idea where Sammy is?" Kelly asked Sergeant Michaels.

"Oh, of course!" he realised. Sergeant Michaels picked up a radio on a nearby desk and spoke into it. "Officer Jackson, report to the front desk with your charge."

Moments later, Sammy came running through a back door and to his Mothers' side. Silver hastily wiped her eyes and cheeks in an effort to hide her sadness from her nephew. She didn't want to worry or scare him.

"Mommy, guess what I did?" Sammy exclaimed.

"What, sweetie?" Kelly countered.

"I got to play with the siren in the Police car!" he replied happily.

"Did you now? That's awesome! Now what do you say to your friend Officer Jackson?" Kelly prompted him.

Sammy turned and faced the officer. "Thank you for playing with me, Officer Jackson," he said smiling.

The adults in the room tried to refrain from smiling at the adorable scene. Officer Jackson laughed.

"You're welcome, Sammy," he said, high-fiving the child. "Bye!"

"Bye," Sammy said with a wave.

Sergeant Michaels turned to Kelly. "Kelly, you call me if either of you need anything, you hear?" he said seriously.

"Will do, Sergeant. Thank you," she said gratefully as he gave her a quick hug. The group turned and left the police station. Harry put his arm around his daughter's shoulders and pulled her close to him. "Alright sweetie, I have to go back to school for a staff meeting. Mom will come get you from Kelly's later, okay?" he asked.

"Okay, Dad," Annie answered.

"Good girl," he murmured as he kissed her hair. "Bye Kel, Sammy. I'll talk to you later, Kelly. Silver, you hang in there kiddo. Sergeant Michaels is right, you did real good in there," he said as he gently lifted her chin up.

"Thanks, Harry," she replied with her first genuine smile since they arrived at the station.

With a wave, Harry jogged to his car and left.

"Okay everyone, in the car," Kelly said as she unlocked it with the remote.

As everyone got settled in their seats, Kelly turned to Sammy. "What do we say, Sammy?"

"Click clack, front and back!" they said in unison.

Kelly looked in the rear vision mirror to check the girls were both buckled up. She decided the backseat needed some cheering up.

"Who's up for ice cream?" Kelly asked.

Sammy instantly sat up straight in his car seat. "I do, I do!" he exclaimed.

"Anyone else?" Kelly called out.

Annie looked at Silver and shrugged. "I could go some Rocky Road after that," she lamented.

Silver scrunched her nose in distaste. "Rocky Road? Ugh… Alright Kel, we're in as well."

Kelly smiled. "Good, because I wanted some and I hate eating alone. Makes me feel like a guts," Kelly quipped.

Silver opened her mouth to deliver a stinging blow, but thought better of it and remained silent. Kelly saw this all in the rear view mirror and smirked.

"Smart move, Silver," she said with a laugh.

As they pulled into the car park at Baskin and Robbins, Silver and Annie were discussion possible ice cream concoctions with Sammy, who was hard at thought with all these new and fantastic ideas planted in his head.

"I think I'll choose inside, I don't remember what I want now," he decided sounding confused.

"Good idea, Sammy," Kelly said as she helped him out of his car seat.

After several minutes of careful deliberation, the group took their frozen treats back to the car.

"Sammy…" Kelly prompted him.

"Oh yeah," he remembered. "Click clack, front and back!" he said in time with his Mother while he giggled through a mouthful of ice cream.


	21. Chapter 21

*Ding-dong!* chimed Kelly's doorbell.

"I've got it, Kel," Silver said as she jumped up from the couch. She jogged over to the door and opened it with the chain still on. Standing on the front stoop was Debbie. Silver smiled at her before shutting the door briefly to remove the chain and let her in. Opening it again, she welcomed her inside. "Hi, Debbie," she said pleasantly.

"Hi Silver," Debbie said sympathetically as she reached over to hug the girl. "How are you doing?"

"Um, I'm okay, you know," Silver answered with a shrug.

Debbie nodded knowingly. "It'll take some time," she suggested. "Listen, if you ever need anything Silver, our door is always open for you," she offered.

Silver smiled gratefully. "Thank you Debbie, I really appreciate that," Silver replied.

"No problem honey," Debbie said as she rubbed Silver's arm affectionately. "So, where's this sister of yours I've heard so much about?"

Silver laughed. "In the kitchen, cooking dinner. I'll take you in," Silver said as she led the way.

"Silver – who was at the door?" Kelly called out as they approached the doorway into the kitchen.

"It's Annie's Mom, Debbie," Silver replied.

Kelly turned around, startled when she heard a reply coming from directly behind her.

"Debbie! Hi, please excuse the mess," Kelly said as she hurriedly untied the strings of her cooking apron and moved to embrace Debbie.

"I'm lucky if my kitchen looks this good after the clean up," Debbie scoffed, returning the hug.

"It's nice to meet you, Debbie. Can I get you a cup of coffee?" Kelly asked.

"Sure, thanks," Debbie answered.

Annie returned to the living room where she'd left Silver a few minutes ago to go to the bathroom to find the room empty and the TV still on. Deciding on a previously proven course of action, she yelled "Marco!"

Silver laughed loudly. "Polo! Kitchen!" she answered.

Debbie looked at Kelly in mock horror and amusement. Kelly simply shrugged and laughed.

Annie ran into the kitchen. "I was wondering where you'd- hey, Mom," she said as she saw her Mom standing in Kelly's kitchen. She quickly went over and hugged her.

"Dumb question, but don't you usually play Marco-Polo in the pool?" Debbie asked looking from Silver to Annie in amusement, which sent the girls into a fit of giggles.

"Never mind, Mom. You had to be here," Annie said through her laughter.

Here you go, Debbie," Kelly said handing her a steaming mug of coffee.

"Thank you, Kelly," she replied.

Sammy came rushing into the kitchen clutching a Lego creation. "Mommy, Mommy! Look what-," Sammy cut himself off when he noticed Debbie standing next to his mother.

"Mommy! Psst, Mommy!" Sammy whispered loudly.

"Yes, Sammy?" Kelly whispered back just as loudly.

"Who's that lady?" he followed up.

"That's Annie's Mom," answered Kelly.

"Oh!" Sammy said with a smile. He turned to Debbie. "Hi!"

Debbie knelt down and smiled at the child. "Hi there! You must be Sammy!" she said.

"I'm going to take Annie home soon, if that's okay with you, Sammy," she told him.

Instantly, Sammy's bottom lip protruded into a childish pout. "Can she come back?" he asked sadly.

"Of course she can!" Debbie exclaimed.

"Okay then, you can take her," Sammy replied. He ambled over to Annie and hugged her legs. "Bye Annie!"

"Awww!" Annie said as she hugged the child back and grinned at her Mom and Kelly over his head. "You are so sweet Sammy… I'm not going just yet though. I've got to pack up my school stuff," Annie said loudly in an effort to make it appear that she'd done some schoolwork while she was here.

"And your shopping bags! Don't forget all your new clothes!" Sammy piped up.

Debbie smirked and raised her eyebrows at her daughter who now looked slightly sheepish.

"Shopping bags? Sammy, you must be confused buddy," Annie said as she ruffled his hair. "There was no shopping… Let's go, Silver," Annie said as she rushed out of the kitchen escaping her Mother's amused glare.

"Okay... Confession time," Kelly admitted. "We had a little shopping spree on our Mother today, and we found a dress that Annie just had to have," she explained.

Debbie laughed. "It's fine, so long as it'll fit me too!" she joked. Debbie's demeanour became serious quickly and put her hand over Kelly's. "I understand things weren't easy for either you or Silver when you lived under your Mother's roof," she prompted.

Kelly sighed. "No, they weren't. Although Erin has had it much worse than I ever did," she replied choking up once more.

Debbie shook her head sadly. "As a Mother, you wonder what could possess a woman to be that way. Well should either you or Silver need anything, you know where to find us," Debbie offered.

Kelly smiled. "Thank you so much, Debbie. I really appreciate that."

The women embraced before they heard a noise from behind them. Annie and Silver were standing in the kitchen doorway and Annie dropped her bag to the floor. "Ready when you are, Mom," Annie announced.

Silver wound her arm around Annie's and leaned gently against her. Annie automatically rested her head on Silver's shoulder. Debbie smiled at the sweet scene.

"Okay then, lets get you home Annie," Debbie said. "Oh, I almost forgot – Harry brought home some schoolwork for the pair of you so you wouldn't miss anything," she added as she retrieved a folder from her purse. "Here you go Silver," she continued as she handed it to her.

"Thanks Debbie," Silver said as she put it on the table. She would look at it after Annie left. Silver leant down and picked up Annie's bag for her. Annie untangled herself from Silver's arm and moved in front of Kelly.

"Thanks for letting me stay over, Kelly," she said as she hugged her.

"Anytime sweetie... Silver's house is your house okay? Thank you for everything," Kelly replied as she gently squeezed Annie before pulling away.

"Ahem!" Sammy said loudly with a pout. All four women tried to refrain from laughing. Annie turned to Sammy and knelt down.

"Thank you for letting me stay over, Sammy. I'll see you soon," she said as she opened her arms. Sammy ran into them and nearly knocked Annie backwards, causing her to giggle.

"Bye Annie!" he replied.

Annie caught Silver's eye while she embraced Sammy. "You look after your Aunty Erin for me, okay?" she said while holding Silver's gaze. Silver smiled softly and dropped her eyes so no one would see them welling up.

"I will!" he exclaimed.

Silver touched Annie's arm to get her attention. "Come on, I'll walk you out," she said softly.

Annie grinned. "Thank you, friend," she replied as she casually threw her arm around Silver's waist, resulting in a sharp intake of breath. Silver stopped in her tracks, grimaced in pain and hunched over, away from Annie's touch.

Kelly's eyes immediately misted over with tears and Debbie brought her hand to cover her mouth which fell open in pity. Annie instantly realised her mistake and was beyond horrified.

"God, Silver, I'm sorry I'm sorry!" she spluttered as she grabbed Silver's hand.

As the pain subsided, Silver straightened up and blinked back tears. "Its okay, Annie. I'm okay," she said with a forced smile.

Annie's eyes were firmly trained on Silver's, searching for any hints that she was lying for her benefit. Finally convinced that she was alright, Annie threaded her arm through Silver's and they continued out the front door. Debbie lay her hand on Kelly's arm as she collected herself. Kelly exhaled deeply and closed her eyes momentarily as anger flooded through her again. Upon opening her eyes, she felt Debbie's eyes on her and shot her a grim smile. "It'll take awhile," she conceded.

"Of course, poor girl," Debbie agreed as she and Kelly followed the girls outside. They found them leaning against Debbie's car, arms still linked and heads pressed together deep in conversation. The women kept their distance to give the girls some privacy. Moments later, Silver threw her arms around Annie's neck, pulling her tightly against her. Annie responded by hugging Silver as tightly as she could while being mindful of the lingering bruises on her body.

Debbie smiled softly as she watched her daughter whispering in her friends ear, no doubt reassuring her that it would all be okay, and to call her if Silver needed her. The girls released their hold on each other and reluctantly separated. Silver looked up and saw Debbie and Kelly watching them and smiled when Debbie winked at her.

"Alright my darlings... I'd better get this one home before she turns into a pumpkin," Debbie said as she moved behind her daughter and rested her hands on Annie's shoulders.

Annie turned her head to look at her Mother and rolled her eyes with a laugh. Annie caught Silver's hand and looked her in the eye. "Bye Sil... Call me okay?" she said seriously.

Silver squeezed her hand and replied with a smile. "I will... Promise."

Debbie reached over and embraced the girl. "Take care sweetie... Don't be a stranger," she said warmly.

Silver beamed at Debbie. "I won't... You'll get sick of me quickly," she predicted.

Debbie laughed before turning serious. "Never," she assured her.

Debbie smiled at Silver once more before turning and waving goodbye to Kelly as she got into the car. Annie paused by the car and waved to Kelly and Sammy over the roof of the car. "Bye Annie... Come back soon!" Sammy yelled, jumping up and down on the porch. Kelly simply smiled and mouthed 'thank you' to Annie. She grinned in response and shook her head, as if to say it was nothing. Then she took a final look at Silver and blew her a kiss. Silver beamed in return and pretended to catch the kiss as she made her way over to where Kelly was waiting for her.

Annie joined her Mother in the car and they reversed out of the driveway, beeping the horn as they drove away from the house. Annie stared at Debbie for a long moment. "Mom," she said to get attract her Mom's attention.

"What sweetie?" Debbie replied as she Annie a quick look.

"I love you Mom," Annie began. "I might not say it enough, but I do. And I might not show it as much as I should, but I know how lucky I am to have parents like you and Dad and I appreciate it so much – I promise, I won't take you guys for granted anymore," she gushed sincerely.

Debbie looked at Annie, surprised. "Well, I love you too, Annie. Was this motivated by what Silver and what her Mom did to her?" she asked.

Annie looked down at her lap. "I guess so. It's just not fair, what she did to her, Mom. You didn't see the bruises all over her," Annie said choking up.

Debbie checked her rear-view mirror before quickly pulling the car over. Turning off the engine, she turned to Annie and sighed.

"Come here sweetie," she said opening her arms for Annie who readily jumped into them and finally let herself cry.

"Shh.. Annie, it'll be okay," Debbie tried to soothe her daughter.

Annie sniffed and pulled away. "I know, she's safe with Kelly now but I couldn't cry for Silver last night or today because I wanted to be strong for her," Annie explained.

Debbie brushed the hair out of Annie's face. "I'm so proud of you honey, you are such a good friend. All you can do now is be there for her if and when she needs you," Debbie told her.

Annie wiped her eyes. "I know. I plan to be there for her," she said firmly.

Debbie smiled. "Good. How about we go home, huh?" she offered

"That sounds great," Annie agreed relaxing back into her seat.

"Clearly you've forgotten about the homework that is waiting for you there," joked Debbie.

Annie laughed. "No, I haven't forgotten. Silver and I are going to do it online together later."

"Ahh, I see," Debbie commented as she started the car. Indicating and checking her mirrors, she pulled back out into the street. Before long, they were pulling up in their driveway.


	22. Chapter 22

The front door opened almost instantly and Harry emerged to meet them. Debbie walked to his side and he embraced her, kissing her cheek.

"Hey Deb," he said while his gaze was entirely focused on Annie who was staring at her feet.

"Hi baby," Harry called to Annie.

Annie waited a Moment before looking up. "Hi Daddy," she murmured. Harry moved beside her and kissed the top of her head.

"How are you doing?" he asked gently.

Annie looked at her Mother who winked at her. She remembered the conversation they just had in the car and knew she had to be strong. If Silver could hold it together, she sure could. She cleared her throat and replied a little louder. "Fine, Daddy."

Harry looked from Annie to Debbie with relief. "Good, good honey. Let's go inside," he said as he wrapped his arm around Annie's shoulders. As they walked through the front door, Dixon jumped up from where he was waiting on the second to last step.

"Hey Annie," he said as he approached her. Annie looked at her brother and saw the worry in his eyes. She tried to maintain composure but Dixon had already seen past her facade.

"Let's go upstairs Annie," Dixon suggested with his hand outstretched towards her. Harry watched as Annie smiled faintly as she took Dixon's hand and followed him up the stairs into her room. He sighed and turned to Debbie.

"Do you think she's really alright?" Harry asked Debbie, worried.

Debbie reflected for a Moment upon what she witnessed at Kelly's house, and on the ride home. "She's not alright now, but she will be," she predicted. Debbie leaned against Harry as they walked into the living room so she could fill him in on the goings on of the afternoon.

*********

Dixon shut Annie's door behind them before joining Annie who was already huddled up on her bed leaning against the headboard.

"What's going on, Annie?" he asked seriously.

Annie looked at him and sighed. "What do you know so far?"

"Mom and Dad said Silver was in a bad way because of her Mom, what she was doing to her," Dixon summed up.

Annie nodded as her eyes welled up. Dixon gathered her in his arms and hugged her as she cried. When she calmed down, she pulled away and tried to dry her tear streaked face.

"Talk to me Annie... What was happening to Silver?" he asked curiously.

Annie stalled before answering. "I really shouldn't say, Dixon. She's been through so much and she has a really hard time trusting people. I don't think she'd mind you knowing, but I'll let her tell you about it herself in her own time. I don't want to give her anymore reasons not to trust people," Annie concluded.

Dixon nodded. "That's cool Annie, I get it," Dixon replied. "If you wanna talk though, I'm here. You know that, right?" Dixon asked.

Annie nodded and hugged her brother. "Thanks Dixon... I appreciate that."

Dixon looked down at his sister and figured she could use some time alone. "Alright Annie, I'm going to let you get started on your extra homework," he said as he stood up to leave.

Annie smiled. "Thanks for the talk, Dixon," she said gratefully.

Dixon shrugged. "I didn't say anything much," he replied modestly.

"Exactly," Annie pointed out with a smile.

Dixon chuckled. "Mom and Dad are going to talk you to death... I just wanted you to know I'm here and I care," he said simply.

"I know Dix, thank you," she repeated.

"Anytime sis, he replied with a wave as he left her room.

Annie shifted her gaze from her closed bedroom door to her desk where a pile of books and notes were left for her. Resignedly she extracted her laptop from underneath her bed and opened it up, waiting for Silver to come online so that they could get started on their homework.

*********

Meanwhile at Kelly's house...

"How are you feeling Silver?" Kelly asked eyeballing the right side of her body where the bruises were still prominent under her clothes.

"I'm feeling alright," she answered bravely.

"Good," she replied. "What do you want for dinner tonight?"

"Anything Kel, you know I love everything you cook," Silver gushed.

"Flattery gets you everywhere," Kelly said smiling and smoothing back her sister's hair. Silver looked up at Kelly and smiled brightly at her. As she opened her mouth to speak, Sammy came running into the room and jumped on the couch next to Silver.

"Mommy, what are we having for dinner tonight?" Sammy asked.

"What would you like to have for dinner, Sammy?" Kelly countered.

"Ummm... Cereal?" he replied hopefully.

"Cereal?" laughed Kelly. "You want cereal for dinner?" she asked incredulously.

"What's wrong with having cereal for dinner, Mommy?" Sammy fired back.

"Well, we have cereal at breakfast time," Kelly struggled to explain as she glared at Silver who was watching Kelly flounder in amusement.

"But why can we only have cereal at breakfast?" he continued.

"You know what Sammy? I don't know that there is a reason we shouldn't have cereal for dinner, just tonight though," compromised Kelly.

"Yay, thank you Mommy!" Sammy squealed as he clapped his hands in delight. "Can we have breakfast-at-dinnertime in bed?" he followed up.

"Oh, why not," Kelly lamented. "Let's go get our dinner then," she said as she got up from the couch and waited for Silver to do the same. Sammy ran on ahead and pulled his box of Capt'n Crunch out of the pantry for his Mother to open.

"Ahh, now I see your reasoning, Sammy," Kelly said slyly.

"What, Mommy?" Sammy asked.

"You didn't want to wait until the morning to get the prize out of your new box of Capt'n Crunch," Kelly said laughing.

Silver added her giggles to Kelly's. "Well played, Sammy," she commended him. He really was a smart kid.

Kelly composed herself and sighed. What a cheeky son she had. "Sammy, why don't you go jump in my bed. Aunty Erin and I will be there in a minute with the cereal," she told him.

"Okay Mommy!" Sammy said as he raced to Kelly's room.

Kelly turned to Silver and rolled her eyes. "Where does he get it?" she asked rhetorically. She shook her head with a smirk. "Ok woman, grab the bowls and spoons, I'll get the milk and cereal," Kelly said producing a large tray to carry it all on. Once they had everything they needed, the girls headed into Kelly's bedroom to find Sammy in the middle of Kelly's bed with the Simpsons on the TV.

"Are we quite comfortable there, Sir?" Kelly asked Sammy sarcastically.

"Sure am, Mommy!" Sammy replied, too young to appreciate the sarcasm. "Come sit next to me!"

"Okay sweetie," Kelly replied sitting on one side of Sammy with Silver taking the other. The girls settled into their spots on the bed and pulled up the covers. Kelly poured Sammy's cereal before doing her own and Silver's. Just as she handed Silver her bowl, Sammy had a mischievous look in his eye.

"Alright mister, what are you planning?" joked Kelly.

Sammy giggled and picked up a piece of cereal with his fingers, threw it in the air and attempted to catch it in his mouth. It was an epic fail, with the piece of cereal flying a good two and a half feet to the left of his awaiting open mouth. While his attempt had not been successful, he found it nonetheless funny. Sammy collapsed in hysterics and the next ten minutes of the meal were spent by all three of the beds' occupants trying in vain to successfully complete the trick.

*********

"Ugh, I'm full now," Silver said patting her swollen stomach. "And I better start the catch-up homework. Annie will probably be waiting for me online. Thanks for dinner, Kel," she said kissing Kelly on the cheek.

"You're welcome hun, I'll come check on you before Sammy goes to bed," she promised.

"Okay," Silver said as she left the room and walked into hers. Grabbing her bag from where it lay slung over the back of the chair, she retrieved her laptop and turned it on to see if Annie was online yet or not.


	23. Chapter 23

No sooner had she opened her laptop did she get an instant message from Annie.

*AnNiE* - Hey girly. Good timing!

*Sil-Vicious* - Thanks. You had dinner?

*AnNiE* - No not yet, still full of Italian from lunch. Have you?

*Sil-Vicious* - No, I had breakfast lol.

*AnNiE* - Lol... What?

*Sil-Vicious* - Never mind... Hey, you've got a webcam.

*AnNiE* - Yeah, doesn't everybody? Kansas isn't totally ass-backwards you know haha.

*Sil-Vicious* - LMAO. I guess it isn't.

_*Sil-Vicious* invites *AnNiE* to start a video conversation._

_*AnNiE accepts. Starting video conversation..._

Silver and Annie popped up in one another's conversation window through a webcam stream. Silver grinned and waved.

*Sil-Vicious* - Isn't technology grand?

Annie laughed and returned the wave.

*AnNiE* - It sure is.

*Sil-Vicious* - :sigh: So what should we start on, the English, Math or Bio?

*AnNiE* - Is there an option for none of the above?

*Sil-Vicious* - Sadly, no. But think of it this way, the sooner we get it done, the sooner I can work on my blog.

*AnNiE* - Ooh, good point Sil. I still have to check that out for myself...

Silver watched as Annie turned and looked away from her computer screen and back again.

*AnNiE* - brb... Someone's at my door.

*Sil-Vicious* - kk.

Annie moved off her bed and out of the webcams sight but quickly returned clutching a bowl. Silver quickly realised she was not alone. As Annie got settled back onto the bed, Dixon came into view of the webcam and sat next to her.

*AnNiE* – Back, as you can see. Dixon brought me some custard.. Mmm..

*Sil-Vicious* - Where's my custard Dixon?

Silver watched Dixon lean over to the keyboard.

*AnNiE* - I guess I'll have to take you out sometime and buy you some.

Silver looked down and before she could stop it, a smile lit up her face which flushed slightly pink. Looking back into the webcam, she laughed and nodded.

*Sil-Vicious* - Yes, you will ;).

Dixon read Silver's reply and chuckled and nodded.

Annie rolled her eyes and pulled the laptop closer to her.

*AnNiE* - Do you want me to leave and give you two some privacy?

Silver leaned back against her headboard laughing.

*Sil-Vicious* - We should get started on this catch up work, Annie.

*AnNiE* - Nice diversion, Silver lol.

Dixon leant over to the keyboard again.

*AnNiE* - Alright, I know where I'm not wanted. See you in the morning.

*Sil-Vicious* - 7:45am! Catch ya then, Dixon.

Silver smiled and waved as Dixon made a move to get off Annie's bed. Dixon responded with a smile and wink. Annie watched the exchange with a smirk.

*AnNiE* - He's gone now.

*Sil-Vicious* - Ahhhhhhh!

Annie laughed as she watched Silver keel over on the bed and sit up giddily with a grin on her face.

*AnNiE* - I swear, between you and Dixon...

*Sil-Vicious* - Oh Annie, I'm sorry but OMG he's just so gorgeous!

*AnNiE* - I wonder how long it'll take him to ask you out.

*Sil-Vicious* - You really think he will?

*AnNiE* - Oh, trust me. It's only a matter of time.

Annie smiled as she watched Silver's face light up with joy, before she turned away from the laptop and spoke to someone at her door. She soon turned sheepishly back to the webcam.

*AnNiE* - What happened?

*Sil-Vicious* - Haha.. Kelly came in to see what I was squealing about... :blush:

Annie dissolved in giggles and pointed at the webcam as she laughed.

*AnNiE* - LMAO! Aww Silver, that's gold.

Silver laughed and covered her face with her hands before replying.

*Sil-Vicious* - How embarrassment... Moving right along! Algebra awaits...

*********

Nearly two hours later and the girls had finally finished their extra homework.

Silver saw Annie yawn through the webcam.

*Sil-Vicious* - Yeah, it's a bit like that isn't it? I think it's nearly time to call it a night.

*AnNiE* - I'm still so buggered from our marathon last night. Really don't feel like going to school tomorrow...

*Sil-Vicious* - I reckon... But alas, we must. So I'll pick you and the spunk up at like quarter to 8 tomorrow =)

Annie stuck her finger in her mouth in a gagging gesture.

*AnNiE* - The spunk? Ohh... Come on. He's still my brother!!

Silver threw her head back and laughed.

*Sil-Vicious* - Sorry Annie, I can't help it!!

*AnNiE* - Ugh. I guess I can overlook it for now. Bed beckons.. Goodnight =) xx

Annie blew a kiss into the webcam and waved.

*Sil-Vicious* - Night Annie, sweet dreams xo

Silver smiled brightly into the webcam and waved before logging off and closing her laptop. She was exhausted, mentally and emotionally. She put her laptop on the floor and decided to find Kelly to say goodnight.

Walking into the living room, she found Kelly sitting on the couch reading a book with a blanket draped over her legs. Kelly looked up when she saw Silver enter the room.

"Hey sweetie, did you and Annie get your homework finished?" she asked as she made room for Silver to sit next to her.

"Yeah, just finished now. Not a moment too soon, we're both still zombies from last night," Silver said, punctuating her statement with a yawn.

Kelly put her arm around Silver who responded by resting her head on Kelly's shoulder.

"We should probably hit the sack considering we both have to be at school in the morning," Kelly said screwing up her face.

"Mmmm..." groaned Silver in agreeance as she stood up and pulled Kelly to her feet after her and began making her way to her room.

Kelly caught Silver's hand and pulled her back to her, hugging her close. Silver's arms snaked around her sister's waist and clung on tightly.

"I am so proud of you, baby girl," Kelly spoke into Silver's hair. "And I love you so much."

Silver was instantly choked up with emotion. "I love you too, Kelly. I don't know what I'd do without you," she replied as she felt the tears began to fall.

After a final squeeze, Kelly pulled away from her sister and looked into her beautiful blue eyes, shining bright with unshed tears. She brushed the ones that lingered off her cheeks and kissed her forehead.

"Let's get some sleep, sweetie," Kelly suggested as she kept a firm grip on Silver's hand.

"Amen to that," agreed Silver with a sniffle as she allowed herself to be led down the hall.

Reaching Silver's bedroom door, Kelly smoothed back Silver's rumpled hair. "Goodnight angel," Kelly said before releasing her hand.

"Night Kelly," Silver replied with a smile as she closed her bedroom door. Kelly lingered in the hall outside Silver's room and kissed her fingers and put them to her door before sighing and making her way into her own room.


End file.
